GIFT   OF 

THOMAS   RUTHERFORD  IM- 
MEMORIAL LIBRARY 


\ 


New-Church  Popular  Series.    [No.  2. 
LETTERS 

ON   THE 

THEOLOGY  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH 

SIGNIFIED    BY 

THE  NEW  JERUSALEM, 

(REV.  XXI.,  XXII.) 


ADDRESSED,  IN  A  DISCUSSION,  TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE 
"CHRISTIAN  WEEKLY  NEWS:1 


BY 

BEV.  J.  H.  SMITHSON, 

/I 

MINISTER  OP  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM  CHURCH,  PETER  STREET, 
MANCHESTER,  AND  FORMERLY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE 
v  UNIVERSITY   OF  BASEL.        ,     , 


PHILADELPHIA: 
E.  CLAXTON  &  COMPANY, 

930    MARKET    STREET. 

1883. 


AMERICAN  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


following  Letters  were  first  published  in 
England  several  years  ago  in  a  weekly 
religious  paper.  They  attracted  consider- 
able attention  at  the  time,  and  were  the  means 
of  interesting  quite  a  number  of  persons  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  New  Church.  They  present 
several  of  its  leading  doctrines  in  a  clear  and 
forcible  manner,  and  in  such  striking  contrast 
with  the  Old,  as  can  scarcely  fail  to  carry  convic- 
tion to  the  mind  of  the  average  reader,  and  im- 
press him  with  the  truth  and  beauty  of  the  New. 
And  the  author's  argument  is  not  a  little 
strengthened  by  the  admirable  spirit  manifested 
on  his  part  throughout  the  discussion.  The  vol- 
untary retirement  of  both  his  opponents  before 


iv  AMERICAN  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

the  discussion  was  finally  concluded,  was  a  virtual 
confession  of  defeat  on  their  part,  or  of  the  utter 
inability  of  the  Old  doctrines  to  stand  against  the 
New  in  a  fair  and  open  field. 

As  these  Letters  have  already  rendered  valuable 
service  to  the  New  Church  in  England,  it  19  hoped 
and  believed  that  they  may  be  not  less  acceptable 
and  serviceable  in  America ;  and  in  this  hope  they 
have  been  chosen  to  make  one  volume  in  our 
"  Popular  Series.77 

The  American  Editor  has  added  page  heads 
which  are  sometimes  a  convenience  to  the  reader, 
and  a  brief  heading  to  each  Letter  indicative  of 
the  subject  or  subjects  therein  discussed,  He  has 
also  omitted  the  synopsis  of  the  Letters  in  the 
body  of  the  work,  but  retained  them  in  the  Con- 
tents as  given  by  the  author.  He  has  appended 
to  Letter  IX,  a  few  extracts  from  the  writings  of 
Martin  Luther  which,  considering  the  wide  dif- 
fusion of  the  great  Reformer >s(?)  teachings,  are 
sufficient  to  show  the  need  there  was  of  another 
reformation  in  Christian  Theology.  He  has,  for 


AMERICAN  EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  V 

reasons  not  necessary  to  state  here,  omitted  one 
or  two  paragraphs  in  the  author's  "  concluding 
remarks.'7  With  these  few  and  unimportant  ex- 
ceptions, the  work  is  an  exact  reprint  of  the 
English  edition. 

B.  F.  B. 
GERMAN-TOWN,  Oct.  19,  1882. 

1* 


PREFACE. 


JHE  Editor  of  "The  Christian  Weekly  News," 
an  ably  conducted  and  liberal  Paper,  con- 
sented, under  certain  conditions,  to  admit 
of  a  discussion  in  his  pages  on  the  subject  of  New 
Church  Theology.  In  a  letter  to  a  gentleman  who 
had  addressed  him  on  the  subject,  the  Editor 
favored  him  with  the  following  truly  courteous 
reply : 

u  SIR  : — I  am  so  calmly  confident  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  Divine  Truth  over  every  form  of  error 
with  which  poor  humanity  is  perplexed,  so  deeply 
conscious  of  my  own  unfitness  to  dictate  the  fuith 
of  any  man,  and  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  the 
usefulness  of  properly  conducted  discussion,  that  I 
have,  as  you  know,  thrown  open  the  correspondence 
department  of  my  Newspaper  for  that  purpose. 

"  In  reply  to  your  letter,  therefore,  requesting 
room  for  a  courteous  discussion  on  the  doctrines 
of  the  'New  Church,'  I  say :  Certainly ;  but,  as  in 
the  controversy  between  Atheism  and  Faith,  re- 
cently concluded,  so  in  this  case,  I  submit  a  few 
conditions : 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

u  1.  Let  the  representative  of  Swedenborgian 
Theology  be  a  gentleman  whom  the  respectable 
and  intelligent  adherents  of  that  system  will  ac- 
cept, generally,  as  a  representative. 

"2.  Let  his  object  be  Truth,  and  not  victory. 

CC3.  Let  his  spirit  become  the  Christian  profes- 
sion. 

U4.  Let  his  name  be  communicated  to  me,  either 
for  publication  or  for  my  own  satisfaction,  as  he 
pleases. 

"On  my  part,  I  will  undertake  to  find  a  gentle- 
man to  represent  what  is  called  Orthodoxy,  and 
who,  of  course,  will  agree  to  the  same  conditions. 

u  If  your  friend  convince  my  other  correspondent 
of  error  in  any  doctrine  of  his  faith,  he  will  yield 
and  say  so. 

u  I  have  only  to  add,  that  personally  I  should  be 
glad  to  see  an  intelligent  exposition  of  New  Church 
doctrines;  an  exposition  which  everybody  could 
understand  ;  and  that  a  discussion  between  fellow 
believers  will  be  far  more  agreeable  to  my  feelings 
than  that  to  which  I  have  referred. 

"  If  you  wish  the  letter  you  sent  published,  say  so 
and  it  shall  be  done.  One  column  of  the  paper  is 
the  extent  that  I  can  allow  for  each  letter,  and  as  it 
will  save  a  great  deal  of  time  and  repetition  if  letters 
and  reply  always  appear  simultaneously,  you  will 
kindly  send  your  communication  a  week  before  the 
expected  time  of  publication. 

;t  I  shall  in  a  '  leader '  call  attention  to  the  discus- 
sion as  soon  as  it  is  decided  upon,  and  I  take  it  for 
granted  that  you  will  make  it  known,  by  any  means 


PREFACE.  IX 

you  please,  to  your  friends,  so  that  they  may  pur- 
chase the  paper,  and  not  allow  the  space  to  be  occu- 
pied at  my  expense  with  matter  which  may  possibly 
displace  or  exclude  articles  more  in  harmony  with 
the  tastes  of  my  constituency.  To  your  own  sense 
of  right  I  can  safely  leave  this.  I  am,  Sir, 

"  Yours  very  truly, 
"W.  L." 

"  Having  thus  (says  the  Gentleman)  prepared  the 
way,  I  can  only  leave  it  in  the  hands  of  those  most 
interested  in  the  maintenance  and  public  advocacy 
of  our  Heavenly  Doctrines  to  avail  themselves  of  so 
auspicious  and  liberal  an  opening,  and  to  have  the 
New  Church  represented  in  an  efficient  manner." 

The  discussion  commenced  in  February,  1856,  by 
the  writer  on  the  part  of  the  New  Church,  signing 
himself  "A.  Y."  (Amator  Veritatis)  ;  and  terminated 
September  23d.  Many  subjects  were  discussed,  and 
much  interest  was  awakened  in  the  controversy 
wherever  the  Paper  was  read.  Quite  a  new  class 
of  readers  has  been  secured  in  localities  where  the 
Paper  is  received,  and  the  doctrines  and  truths  of 
the  New  Church  Theology  have  been  permitted  to 
flow  in  new  channels,  which  it  is  hoped  may  awaken 
interest  and  inquiry  as  to  the  important  subjects 
thus  brought  before  the  public. 

Two  opponents,  "C.  B."  and  "C.  D.,"  encoun- 
tered the  New  Church  advocate,  "  A.  V.,"  but  both 


X  PREFACE. 

left  "  A.  V."  in  possession  of  the  field  prior  to  the 
termination  of  the  contest.  Several  important  doc- 
trines, such  as  the  Atonement,  the  Justification  of 
the  sinner  before  God,  the  true  Doctrine  of  Salva- 
tion by  the  Cross,  were  scarcely  opposed  by  the 
advocates  of  the  so-called  orthodoxy.  The  former, 
or  UC.  B.,"  was  at  length  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  saying  that  "he  would  not  defend  or  justify  the 
Athanasian  Creed,"  which,  nevertheless,  is  the 
great  bulwark  of  orthodoxy ;  for,  take  the  creed 
away,  and  the  prevailing  theology  tumbles  to  pieces. 
Much  stress,  however,  was  laid  by  the  latter  defend- 
ant on  the  resurrection  of  the  same  body,  although 
this  idea  has  long  since  been  given  up,  even  by  many 
of  the  most  learned  theologians  of  his  own  persuasion. 
At  length  UC.  D.,"  giving  up  all  argument,  indulged 
in  mere  assertion,  and  endeavored  to  gain  ground  in 
popular  estimation  by  irony  and  abuse.  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  serve  him,  still  less  the  cause  which 
he  pretended  to  defend.  He  asked  a  series  of  ques- 
tions respecting  spiritual  substances  and  spiritual 
conditions,  which  he  imagined  could  not  be  an- 
swered. Here  again  he  was  foiled,  not  knowing 
the  spiritual  intelligence  which  the  doctrines  of 
the  New  Church  confer  upon  those  who  thoroughly 
understand  them.  The  questions  were  answered, 
and  as  far  as  we  have  heard,  in  a  manner  satisfac- 


PREFACE.  XI 

tory  to  all  reflecting  minds.  More  elucidations  might 
certainly  have  been  given,  if  space  had  permitted. 

It  is  supposed  by  some  that  these  two  champions 
of  the  prevailing  theology,  although  picked  men,  did 
not  prove  themselves  competent  to  the  defence  with 
which  they  were  entrusted.  But  had  more  able 
hands  come  forward,  there  is  every  reason  to  con- 
clude that  they  would,  if  not  in  their  own  estima- 
tion, at  least  in  that  of  impartial  and  reflecting 
minds,  have  been  equally  defeated. 

Several  inquiries  having  been  made  as  to  the  pub- 
lication of  these  Letters,  it  was  thought  that  they 
should,  instead  of  being  buried  where  they  now 
are,  be  brought  out  and  made  accessible  to  all.  As 
the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church  will  have,  for  gen- 
erations to  come,  to  light  their  way  through  oppos- 
ing falsities  and  erroneous  dogmas,  it  is  evident  that 
whatever  useful  weapons  can  be  added  to  the  armory 
of  Truth,  will  be  of  service  in  the  polemics  of  the  New 
Church.  A  Gentleman,  impressed  with  this  idea, 
generously  proposed  to  assist  in  the  publication  of 
these  Letters.  They  consequently  have  been  thor- 
oughly revised,  and  form  a  small  volume,  which  may 
not  only  be  useful,  under  the  Lord's  Providence,  in 
defending  the  Doctrines,  but  likewise  a  suitable 
medium  of  introducing  them  to  inquiring  minds. 

Two  supplementary  Letters,  intended  for  inser- 


Xll  PREFACE. 

tion  in  uThe  Christian  Weekly  News,"  had  the 
discussion  continued,  have  been  added ; — one  on  the 
"Nature  of  Future  Rewards  and  Punishments,"  and 
the  other  on  u  Angels  and  Evil  Spirits. "  To  the  lat- 
ter is  added,  in  a  Postscript,  a  critical  examination 
of  the  passages  in  2  Peter  ii.  4,  and  Jude  6,  7,  which 
are  supposed  to  teach  the  "Fall  of  Angels,"  but 
which,  as  demonstrated  from  the  highest  authori- 
ties, by  no  means  teach  such  a  doctrine. 

During  the  discussion,  the  more  prominent  ob- 
jections to  the  Doctrines  of  the  New  Church  were 
especially  considered,  and,  it  is  thought,  successfully 
confuted  ;  minor  points  which,  on  reflection,  bear 
with  them  their  own  refutation,  were  either  omit- 
ted, or  only  incidentally  considered.  The  entire 
series  of  Letters  is  especially  commended  to  the 
attention  of  candid  and  truth-seeking  minds. 

J.  H.  S. 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I. 

THE  CORNER-STONE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

PAOl 

Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Discussion — Preliminaries 
—Postulates  to  be  granted,  1.  The  Word  of  God  the 
only  Source  from  which  all  Doctrine  must  be  drawn, 
and  by  which  it  must  be  confirmed — 2.  Recognition  of 
two  classes  of  ideas,  Material  and  Immaterial  or  Spir- 
itual— The  true  Idea  of  God  the  first  principle  of  true 
Theology— The  true  Idea  stated— The  idea  of  three 
Persons,  as  maintained  by  the  Athanasian  or  Orthodox 
Creed,  destructive  of  the  idea  of  God  as  one,  and  the 
cause  of  great  desolation  in  the  church — Trinity  not  of 
Persons,  out  of  three  Essentials  in  one  Person,  who  is 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 25 

LETTER  II. 

THIS  STONE  REJECTED  BY  THE  BUILDERS. 

Alleged  Truth  and  Harmony  in  the  present  system  of 
Theology— Refuted  by  Facts— New  Ideas  not  at  once 
received— No  new  Revelation  required,  but  a  better 
understanding  of  God's  Word  is  required —Progress  in 
spiritual  and  religious  Knowledge — A  new  develop- 
ment of  Truth  from  the  Scriptures  required  to  meet 
the  growing  requirements  of  the  human  Mind— Ptole- 
maic system  of  Astronomy  founded  on  appearances — 
Galileo  and  Newton  founded  it  on  genuine  Truths — 
The  prevailing  Theology  founded  on  appearances  of 
Truth,  and  not  on  genuine  Truth— Swedenborg  has 
done  for  Theology  what  Copernicus,  Galileo,  and^ New- 
ton have  done  for  Astronomy— Luther  and  Wesley  ex- 
2  xiii 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

traordmary  Instruments  of  God's  Providence  in  Relig- 
ion— Swedenborg  a  still  more  extraordinary  Instrument 
— Theology  and  Science  harmonized  by  Swedenborg— 
Use  of  Terms— The  Divine  Humanity  of  Jesus  the  Cor- 
ner-stone and  the  Crown  of  Christianity— This  stone 
rejected  by  the  Builders,  proved  to  be  the  foundation 
is  rid  the  All  in  All  of  Doctrine  and  of  Life  in  Chris- 
tianity   34 

LETTEK  III. 

THE  DIVINE  HUMANITY  AND  REDEMPTION. 

Progress  in  the  Knowledge  of  Truth  admitted — A  new 
Idea  of  Jesus  requisite  to  Progress — This  Idea  advo- 
cated in  the  New  Church — Orthodoxy  so  called  preaches 
another  Gospel  than  that  advocated  by  the  Apostle — 
The  Mormons  quite  opposed  to  the  New  Church — 
Mormonism  an  outgrowth  of  the  corrupted  state  of 
Christianity — The  Apostolic  Churches  not  perfect — 
The  Resurrection— The  Holy  Spirit  not  a  Person — 
The  prevailing  Theology  interiorly  acknowledges 
three  Gods — Christianity  cannot  possibly  exist  in  its 
true  character  without  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
Lord  in  his  Divine  Humanity — Arguments  in  proof 
of  this,  in  former  letters,  remain  intact — The  Lord's 
Glorification  the  pattern  of  our  Regeneration — Man 
the  subject  of  two  Humanities — The  Deist  and  Pan- 
theist— A  God  invisible  to  our  Faith  not  the  God  of 
Christianity — The  Lord  spake  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son  in  proverbs — A  Proverb  not  to  be  taken  literally — 
A  child's  ideas  to  be  put  away,  and  to  give  place  to  the 
ideas  of  rational  manhood — The  relation  between  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  as  taught  by  the  Lord  and  the 
Apostle — The  Lord  not  only  the  Medium  but  the  Object 
of  Worship — Redemption — The  Redeemer — Meaning 
of  Redemption 46 

LETTER  IY. 

A  TRUE  IDEA  OF  GOD—ITS  IMPORTANCE. 

Clearer  and  more  enlightened  views  of  Jesus  required — 
Only  to  be  found  in  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAGE 

Death-bed  Repentance  or  Confession  of  no  avail,  but 
the  Repentance  and  the  Confession  in  the  daily  life- 
One  great  object  of  this  Discussion— What  the  Gospel 
teaches  in  respect  to  the  Lord— Relation  of  the  Father 
to  the  Son— No  substance  without  a  form — Spiritual 
substances,  and  still  more  divine  substances,  infinitely 
exalted  above  the  properties  and  laws  of  matter— Ce- 
lestial bodies  and  terrestrial  bodies — Spirit  more  sub- 
stantial than  matter— The  cause  more  substantial  than 
the  effect;  the  Prior  than  the  Posterior;  Heavenly 
things  than  earthly — Properties  of  earthly  things  em- 
ployed to  designate,  by  correspondence,  the  quality  of 
Spiritual  things— The  Spiritual  things  seen  by  the 
prophets  as  substantial  to  them  as  natural  things  seen 
by  men— Other  arguments  in  proof  of  the  Divine  Hu- 
manity— A  clause  in  the  Athanasian  Creed  adduced  to 
prove  it— Thomas  acknowledges  Jesus,  after  his  resur- 
rection, as  his  Lord  and  God — And  this  in  his  Humanity 
— Also  Paul  and  John  in  the  Epistles 58 

LETTER  Y. 

CHURCH  COUNCILS;  DIVINITY  AND  HUMANITY;  A  TRUE 
PS  YCHOLOG  Y  NEEDL I  >. 

The  right  spirit  of  discussion— The  spirit  and  life  of 
the  New  Church— Early  Church  Councils — The  New 
Church  acknowledges  only  one  Church  Council,  the 
prophets  and  apostles  with  the  Lord  as  their  head ;  also 
only  one  Rule  of  Faith,  the  Divine  Word— The  greatest 
absurdities  enacted  by  Church  Councils— Christ  admit- 
ted to  be  wholly  God  and  wholly  Man — The  consequence 
of  this  admission — The  Council  of  Alexandria  defined 
the  term  hypostasis,  or  person,  as  being  an  "  individual 
existence/''  thus  giving  rise  to  the  idea  of  three  gods  — 
Thomas's  declaration  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  one  Personal 
God — The  light  of  the  New  Church  contrasted  with  the 
darkness  of  the  decisions  of  ancient  and  modern  Church 
Councils — True  idea  of  the  Lord  as  Mediator — What  is 
meant  by  Christ  being  "in  all  things  like  unto  his 
brethren  "  ?— Had  he  a  human  soul  ?— His  anima  was 
divine,  not  human,  but  his  tniimH*  in  the  humanity 
from  the  mother  was,  prior  to  glorification,  human,  but 
not  afterwards — A  true  psychology — No  term  in  Eng- 
lish so  indeterminate  as  the  term  soul— Explained— 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The  anima,  fhemens,  and  the  animus—  The  Athanasian 
Creed,  the  bulwark  of  Orthodoxy,  abandoned  by  the 
opponent — A  concession  to  our  arguments — Operation, 
or  activity,  an  essential  part  of  man — We  receive  of 
God's  fulness,  but  "  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  can 
only  dwell  bodily  "  in  Him  whose  Humanity  or  Body 
is  divine - 74 

LETTER  VI. 

THE  TRINITY  IN  ONE  DIVINE  PERSON. 

Church  Councils — Present  state  of  the  Discussion — Man 
receives  of  God's  fulness— He  cannot  receive  all  God's 
fulness — the  Lord  only  by  glorification  received  all  this 
fulness  in  his  Humanity — No  sanction  in  Scripture  to 
pray  to  God  for  Christ's  sake — A  wrong  translation  cor- 
rected— The  common  version  of  the  Scriptures — Prayer 
in  the  Lord's  name— The  Holy  Spirit;  a  right  idea  of 
immense  importance — Meaning  of  the  term  Spirit — Not 
a  separate  Person  from  the  Lord — His  own  divine  ope- 
ration— Important  distinction  between  the  Spirit  of  God 
mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  New— The  true  idea  of  the  Holy  Spirit  given  by 
the  Lord  when  He  breathed  upon  his  disciples — The 
Spirit  identified  with  the  Lord  himself— Why  a  dove 
appeared  at  the  Lord's  baptism — Personification  com- 
mon in  Scripture — Things  personified  not  persons — 
Examples— The  idea  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  Person 
founded  upon  no  declaration  of  Scripture,  but  on  mere 
inferences,  and  on  Church  Councils,  a  fallacious  ground 
of  argument — The  New  Church  founds  its  idea  on  this 
subject  upon  a  direct  declaration  of  the  Lord — The  Com- 
forter or  Paraclete  identified  with  the  Lord — Predicates 
of  the  Spirit  not  applicable  to  a  Person— The  Lord  ope- 
rates and  dwells  in  his  people  not  as  a  Person,  but  by 
his  Spirit 91 

LETTEK  VII. 

THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT. 

The  prevailing  theology  not  able  to  explain  the  Lord's 
declaration  that  "the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  yet,"  etc.— 


CONTENTS.  XVil 

PAGE 

Two  tests  whether  a  system  be  truly  Christian  and  Evan- 
gelical or  not — The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement;  its  im- 
portance— No  true  understanding  of  Christianity  with- 
out it — The  doctrine  stated — Meaning  of  Atonement — 
All  true  worship  based  by  the  Lord  on  Atonement — 
Love  the  source  of  Atonement— The  necessity  of  Atone- 
ment— The  Being  who  accomplished  it — Not  a  second 
Person,  but  God  himself  as  the  one  only  Person  of  the 
Godhead — The  means  by  which  the  Atonement  was 
effected — He  first  abolished  the  enmity  in  his  own  flesh, 
or  glorified  the  Humanity  He  assumed— He  thereby  pre- 
pared the  way  of  abolishing  the  enmity  in  all  mankind 
—This  effect  follows  on  all  those  who  come  unto  Him 
and  obey  Him — The  doctrine  of  the  prevailing  theology 
contrasted  with  the  view  here  given — Its  opposition  to 
Scripture  demonstrated — Not  reconcilable  with  reason 
— Injurious  tendency  of  the  prevailing  doctrine — Bene- 
ficial tendency  of  the  New  Church  doctrine — Worthy 
of  all  acceptation 105 

LETTER  VIII. 

RECONCILIATION,  SACRIFICE  AND  JUSTIFICATION. 

Truth  does  not  suffer  by  friendly  discussion— Clearer  and 
more  spiritual  views  required  in  theology — Heads  of 
the  Atonement  recapitulated — Meaning  of  s<itix{<tctinn 
and  substitution — No  vindictive  justice  in  God — The 
Prodigal  Son,  a  specimen  of  true  conversion,  and  of 
actual  repentance— But  the  power  by  which  repentance 
is  done  is  from  the  Lord — He  performed  the  work  of 
redemption  and  atonement  to  enable  man  to  repent,  or 
to  work  out  his  own  salvation — The  sufferings  of  Christ 
not  penal  but  purificatory — An  important  distinction, 
not  made  by  the  prevailing  theology — A  sacrifice  does 
not  involve  a  vicarious  substitute — Vindictive  justice 
in  God  a  great  error — True  doctrine  of  justification — 
The  Lord's  redemption  and  glorification  or  atonement, 
the  only  ground  of  our  justification — How  man  becomes 
justified — Justification  and  righteousness  the  same  term 
in  Greek — Genuine  and  spurious  righteousness — Dead 
works  and  good  works — Justification  by  faith  only  an 
enormous  error — The  merits  of  Christ  as  being  infinite 
can  no  more  be  attributed  to  rnan  than  his  omnipo- 
tence    117 

2*  B 


XV111  CONTENTS. 


LETTEE   IX. 

THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  CROSS  EXPLAINED. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  founded 
exclusively  upon  Scripture,  and  not,  as  is  commonly 
supposed,  on  any  revelations  made  to  Swedenborg — 
Salvation  by  the  Cross ;  a  true  idea  of  which  most  im- 
portant— The  Cross  as  an  instrument  of  punishment — 
Several  kinds  of  punishment  among  the  Jews — Ex- 
plained— Every  sin  has  its  own  punishment — Great 
error  of  supposing  that  the  sufferings  of  the  Redeemer 
were  inflicted  upon  him  by  God  as  a  first  Person— The 
Lord's  suffering  not  penal,  or  as  a  consequence  of  sin, 
but  purificatory — True  application  of  the  Cross — Why 
Christianity  is  called  the  religion  of  the  Cross— The 
doctrine  of  the  Cross  as  understood  by  the  Primitive 
Christians— As  understood  in  the  middle  ages— At  the 
Reformation,  quite  erroneous — The  true  meaning  re- 
stored in  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Church — The  suffer- 
ing on  the  Cross,  the  Lord's  final  temptation  and  agony 
— Great  error  to  suppose  that  the  passion  of  the  Cross 
was  redemption — It  was  the  final  temptation  by  which 
redemption  was  accomplished — Anti-evangelical  ten- 
dencies of  the  prevailing  doctrine  of  the  Cross — Prac- 
tical and  saving  tendency  of  the  New  Church  doctrine 
on  this  subject — Repentance — Its  meaning  and  import- 
ance— Excluded  from  the  prevailing  theology  as  the 
practical  means  of  salvation— Its  nature  and  necessity 
— The  only  means  of  securing  the  benefits  of  Redemp- 
tion and  Atonement — No  faith,  no  love,  no  holiness 
which  does  not  spring  from  Repentance  as  its  Evan- 
gelical ground 127 

[APPENDIX  BY  THE   AMERICAN   EDITOR.] 140 

LETTER  X. 

DEATH  AND   THE  RESURRECTION. 

Death  and  the  Resurrection — No  change  as  to  man's  gov- 
erning love  can  be  effected  after  death — A  man  loves 
his  nature  contracted  in  the  world,  arid  after  death  will 
not  change  it ;  no  more  than  a  lamb,  a  wolf,  or  a  viper 
is  willing  to  change  its  nature  in  this  world — Pleasures 
of  sin  in  this  world  changed  after  death  into  the  miseries 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

PAGE 

of  hell— Three  ideas  of  death  presented  in  God's  Word 
— Important  to  form  a  true  idea  on  this  subject— A  true 
idea  of  life  important — Resurrection — A  twofold  death 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  also  a  twofold  resurrection— 
The  Lord  gives  the  entire  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection 
in  the  Parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  La/arns— The 
natural  body  and  the  spiritual  bodjt — Man  rises  im- 
mediately after  death— The  common  notion  of  a  future 
general  resurrection  of  dead  bodies  groundless— Neither 
scriptural  nor  rational — Full  of  darkness  and  devoid 
of  consolation — Affording  no  persuasive  to  holiness  of 
life— The  New  Church  doctrine  full  of  light  and  con- 
solatiou,  and  of  every  inducement  to  a  holy  life 145 


LETTER  XL 

SPIRITUAL  DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION. 

A  new  opponent — No  mysticism,  no  blind  faith  tolerated 
in  the  light  of  the  New  Jerusalem — Conditions  of  real 
progress — Genuine  enlightenment— The  death  of  the 
body  and  the  death  of  the  soul — Great  evils  caused  by 
an  erroneous  and  sensual  theology — Resurrection  of  the 
Spirit  from  the  body,  to  be  distinguished  from  the  res- 
urrection of  the  Spirit  from  the  death  of  sin — Certain 
passages  of  Scripture  supposed  to  support  the  idea  of 
a  resurrection  of  dead  bodies,  considered— No  such  an 
idea  involved  in  the  said  passages 153 

LETTER  XII. 

LIFE  BEYOND   THE  GRAVE. 

The  unprejudiced  reader  not  to  be  misled  by  the  cry  of 
"  Swedenborgianism  " — The  real  question — The  life 
after  death — Heaven  and  Hell — The  mind  naturally 
desires  to  know  this  subject — Man  rises  in  the  spiritual 
world  at  death— All  the  truths  of  man's  resurrection 
revealed  in  the  Parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus 


spirit  of  ! 
This  idea  of  man's  resurrection  most  rational  and  coil- 


XX  CONTENTS, 

PAGE 

soling — Dr.Whately  and  his  unconscious  sleep  for  thou- 
sands of  years  most  unscriptural  and  irrational — The 
Apostle  confirms  the  New  Church  doctrine  on  this  sub- 
ject— Man  in  this  life  organizes  his  spirit  either  for  good 
or  for  evil — Heaven  open  to  all — But  none  can  enter 
except  those  who  are  prepared  by  regeneration — Heaven 
and  Hell  near  to  us — Man  must,  through  the  Lord's 
power,  resist  and  overcome  evil — "  He  must  fight  the 
good  fight  of  faith  "—The  fire  of  hell— What?— "  The 
worm  that  dieth  not"— What? 161 


LETTEK  XIII. 

SOME  QUESTIONS  ABOUT  MAN'S  SPIRIT  A^D  SPIR- 
ITUAL SUBSTANCE  ANSWERED. 

Vituperation  is  not  argument — The  right  spirit  of  con- 
troversy— The  spirit  is  the  man,  not  the  body — A  spir- 
itual body  suited  to  the  spiritual  world — Why  do  some 
ministers  still  advocate  the  resurrection  of  the  body? 
Because  it  is  popular— Many  doctrines  at  one  time  pop- 
ular, not  so  now — Spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  in 
heaven,  without  being  again  united  to  their  material 
bodies — The  material  body  therefore  not  necessary  to 
the  perfection  of  the  spirit — Scriptural  Truth  supremely 
rational— The  stronghold  of  bigotry— What  ?— Certain 
questions  answered — The  spirit  in  a  human  form — The 
organism  of  the  body  not  simply  one,  but  like  the  body 
harmonically  one — The  properties  of  a  spiritual  sub- 
stance— Laws  and  conditions  of  spiritual  substances — 
The  spiritual  body  has  organs  of  sense  of  which  the 
senses  of  the  natural  body  are  the  mere  instruments — 
Proved  from  Scripture 170 

LETTER  XIY. 

FUTURE  REWARDS  AND  PUNISHMENTS  EXPLAINED. 

Future  rewards  and  punishments— A  true  idea  of  which 
of  great  importance — most  practical — What  a  man  sows 
here  he  reaps  hereafter— Works  of  the  flesh— Fruits  of 
the  spirit— God's  order  and  the  laws  by  which  He  acts 
unchangeable — End  for  which  man  is  created — Nature 
of  rewards  and  punishments  in  this  life ;  civil,  moral 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

PAQZ 

and  physical— These  laws  as  to  their  essential  princi- 
ples unchangeable — Rewards  attending  the  observance 
of  these  laws— Miseries  attending  their  violation— Man 
free— What  health  is  to  the  body,  salvation  is  to  the  soul 
— Laws  of  spiritual  health  or  salvation  unchangeable ; 
revealed  in  the  Word— Necessity  of  a  divine  revelation 
— The  ancients  had  a  revelation— Obedience  to  revealed 
truths  the  condition  of  salvation — Predestination,  or 
God's  arbitrary  decree,  most  unscriptural  and  irrational 
— Calvinistic  theology — All  good  from  God  has  within 
it  its  own  reward;  all  evil  from  hell  its  own  misery — 
This  reward  whilst  here  in  the  inward  man— Cares, 
anxieties  and  ailments  of  our  external  man,  means  of 
spiritual  training — After  death  the  happiness  in  the 
internal  comes  forth  in  the  external — An  evil  nature, 
how  contracted — Remains  after  death  unchangeable — 
The  pleasures  of  sin  changed  into  infernal  miseries — 
Evil  subdued  by  the  punishment  inherent  in  its  nature 
— Action  and  reaction — The  law  of  retaliation — All 
power  to  obey  is  from  the  Lord 177 

LETTER  XV. 

GUARDIAN  ANGELS  AND  EVIL,' SPIRITS. 

Guardian  angels  and  evil  spirits— Their  proximity  to  man 
— This  doctrine  truly  practical — Source  of  knowledge 
on  this  subject — The  Scripture  plainly  teaches  it — An- 
gels in  constant  attendance  upon  man — In  his  infancy 
— In  temptations — When  repenting— When  dying — At 
his  resurrection — They  inspire  us  with  heavenly  emo- 
tions—The Lord  had  angels  attendant  upon  Him — Not 
that  He  required  tfoeir  aid— What  is  an  angel  ?  The 
spirit  of  a  just  man  made  perfect  in  heaven — The  spir- 
itual body  not  subject  to  the  laws  of  matter — For  what 
end  do  we  exist  here — The  world  the  seminary  of  heaven 
— How  a  man  lives  for  heaven — Angels  always  seen  as 
men — Why  represented  with  wings — Nothing  made  for 
itself — The  mineral  kingdom  made  for  the  vegetable 
kingdom— This  for  the  animal — This  for  man— Thus 
all  for  man,  through  whom  by  acts  of  gratitude  and 
worship  they  ascend  to  God — All  things  mediums  of 
good— Every  holy  and  pure  thought  from  the  Lord 
through  angels— Man  bound  to  resist  evil  suggestions 
—What  is  an  evil  spirit?  A  man  in  a  state  of  misery 


XX11  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

and  despair  brought  upon  himself — The  human  soul — 
What  it  is— Governing  principle  of  the  life  not  changed 
after  death— For  what  the  Lord  came  into  the  world — 
Man  does  not  derive  his  thoughts  from  himself— Every 
unholy  thought  a  proof  of  the  proximity  of  unclean 
spirits— Confederacy  with  hell,  how  broken  —  Man's 
individual  redemption  an  image  of  redemption  itself 
— The  Word  the  only  power  against  evil  spirits — The 
Lord  in  his  Divine  Humanity  the  only  Saviour  from 
sin — Thus  Jesus  alone  has  the  power  to  subject  evil, 
and  to  deliver  us  from  the  bondage  of  evil  spirits 191 

POSTSCRIPT. 

ANGELS  NOT  CREATED  SUCH. 

Supposed  existence  of  angels  prior  to  the  creation  of  man 
— The  meaning  of  the  term  angel  as  employed  in  Scrip- 
ture— Angels  in  Scripture  also  signify  men  as  messen- 
gers— Not  exclusively  confined  to  the  inhabitants  of 
heaven — The  passages  in  Peter  and  Jude  in  which  the 
fall  of  angels  is  supposed  to  be  taught,  considered — 
Proved  from  the  passages  themselves  that  they  do  not 
teach  such  a  doctrine — Further  proved  from  the  most 
esteemed  writers,  Augustin,  Chrysostom,  Cyrillus  and 
Theodoret,  that  the  said  passages  do  not  teach  that  doc- 
trine— Demonstrated  what  they  do  teach — The  fall  of 
the  posterity  of  Adam,  and  of  Noah,  and  not  the  fall 
of  angels  from  heaven 208 

LETTEE  XYI. 

A  FEW  MORE  QUESTIONS  ANSWERED. 

Irony  not  proper  on  solemn  subjects — We  have  no  intelli- 
gence in  spiritual  things  if  we  cannot  in  some  degree 
define  them,  and  understand  their  properties — Further 
elucidations  desired — The  form  of  man's  spirit,  or  the 
spiritual  body,  if  regenerate  and  good,  perfectly  human 
and  beautiful — But  if  evil  it  is  monstrous  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  evil  which  governs  it — The  material 
body  does  not,  but  in  a  slight  degree,  assume  a  form 
according  to  the  moral  qualities  of  its  spirit — The  essen- 
tial difference  between  spirit  and  matter  is  the  same  as 


CONTENTS.  XXlll 

PAGE 

between  mind  and  body — Divisibility,  as  applied  to 
matter,  cannot  be  applied  to  man's  spirit,  but  in  the 
sense  of  analysis  it  run  be  applied — Material  proper- 
ties, such  as  hard,  soft,  bitter,  sweet,  etc.,  cannot,  but  by 
way  of  analogy  or  correspondence,  be  applied  to  a  spir- 
itual substance — The  Word  of  God  full  of  expressions 
taken  from  material  things,  to  denote  spiritual  proper- 
ties— Also  common  language— The  fact  instinctively 
perceived  by  all  minds — A  doctrine  founded  on  the 
symbol  and  not  on  the  thing  symbolized  is  false — The 
nature  of  spiritual  forms — The  materialists,  tlu-ir  falla- 
cious doctrines— All  who  deny  a  spiritual  substance, 
although  called  Christians,  advocate  nevertheless  the 
cause  of  materialism  and  infidelity — The  law  by  which 
the  union  of  the  body  and  the  spirit  is  maintained 218 


LETTER  XVII. 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

Conclusion — The  prevailing  theology — The  Ptolemaic 
and  Copernican  systems  of  astronomy. — The  prevail- 
ing tenets  of  theology  founded  on  the  tri  p  T  <>nal  sys- 
tem, demonstrated  to  be  false — No  enlightened  progress 
but  in  the  path  of  genuine  Truth — Irony  and  vituper- 
ation not  argument — A  system  having  recourse  to  such 
weapons  not  sound,  but  rotten  and  groundless — The 
Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  a  system  of  Doctrine  as 
a  city  compact  together — A  missionary  in  India— The 
two  bodily  aspects;  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Son  of 
Mary — The  Divine  Humanity  and  the  infirm  human- 
ity—Final appeal  to  the  readers  of  the  Christian 
Weekly  News— Compliments  to  the  liberality  of  its 
Editor 225 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

DOCTRINES  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF 
THE  NEW  JERUSALEM. 


LETTER  I. 
THE  CORNER-STONE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

|O  the  Editor  of  "  The  Christian  Weekly  News." 
SIR: — Having  understood  that  you  are 
willing  to  admit  into  your  liberal  paper  a 
discussion  on  the  Theology  of  the  New 
Church,  understood  by  the  New  Jerusalem  in  the 
Revelation,  as  a  renovated  system  of'Christian  doc- 
trine and  life,  I  beg  to  say  that,  with  full  approval  of 
the  conditions  you  have  mentioned,  in  a  letter  to  a 
gentleman  on  the  subject,*  I  have  taken  the  liberty 
to  send  you  the  first  article,  which  will  open  the  dis- 
cussion. This  discussion — to  be  conducted,  we  trust, 
in  the  spirit  of  that  "  truth  which  speaketh  from 
love  " — is  of  importance,  when  it  is  considered  that 
an  increasing  number  of  persons,  both  in  Europe  and 
America,  and  also  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  are 
receiving  these  doctrines  as  what  they  verily  believe 
to  be  the  true  doctrines  of  Christianity. 

*  See  Preface. 
3  25 


26  THE  N^W-CHURCR    THEOLOGY. 

Before,  however,  we  commence,  it  may  be  well  to 
state  certain  preliminaries,  which  as  postulates  will, 
I  doubt  not,  be  conceded  by  those  who  enter  upon 
the  discussion. 

First,  it  will  be  granted  on  both  sides  that  the 
Word  of  God  is  the  only  source  of  all  divine  and 
spiritual  knowledge,  and  that  from  it  must  be  de- 
rived, and  by  it  must  be  confirmed,  all  principles  of 
Christian  doctrine,  faith  and  life.  This  postulate, 
of  course,  excludes  all  things  of  a  merely  human 
origin,  such  as  creeds,  symbols,  and  articles  of  faith, 
and  rests  the  entire  controversy  solely  upon  the  Word 
of  God  as  its  proper  basis. 

Secondly,  as  to  ideas,  which  are  the  elements  of  all 
intelligence  and  upon  which  all  discussion  depends, 
it  will  also,  I  think,  be  conceded  that  in  agreement 
with  all  systems  of  logic  as  maintained  by  Locke, 
Watts,  Kant  and  other  logicians,  there  are  two  classes 
of  ideas  which  every  mind,  and  especially  every 
thinking  mind,  entertains,  namely,  material  or  sen- 
suous ideas,  and  immaterial  or  intellectual  ideas,  which 
also  may  be  called  spiritual  ideas.  Those  two  classes 
of  ideas  are  not  only  maintained  by  logicians,  or  by 
such  as  know  anything  of  the  human  mind  and  its 
operations,  but  they  are  clearly  deducible  from  the 
Word  of  God  itself ;  and  therefore,  in  maintaining 
these  two  classes  of  ideas,  we  are  not  departing  from 
our  first  postulate,  which  requires  everything  in  the 
discussion  to  be  founded  upon  its  teaching  and  au- 
thority. For  example,  when  Jesus  declared  that 
"  except  we  eat  his  flesh  and  drink  his  blood  we  have 
no  life  in  us,"  the  Jews  formed  only  a  gross  material 


MATERIAL   AND  SPIRITUAL   BREAD.         27 

idea  of  what  He  had  said,  and  exclaimed,  u  How  ^an 
this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat  ?  "  But  Jesus  cor- 
rected this  material  idea  by  saying  that  "  his  words 
are  spirit  and  life,"  and  not  flesh,  "for  the  lU-sh 
profiteth  nothing ; "  showing  that  it  was  with  an 
immaterial  or  spiritual  idea,  and  not  with  a  material 
idea,  that  we  should  understand  his  sayings,  and 
this  because  it  is  expressly  said  that  "  He  spake 
nothing  without  a  parable." 

Again,  when  Jesus  told  his  disciples  "  to  beware 
of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Saddu- 
cees,"  they  thought  that  "  it  was  because  they  had 
taken  no  bread."  Thus  they  had  an  idea  of  bread, 
which  was  material,  but  afterwards  they  saw  that 
".He  bade  them  not  beware  of  the  leaven  of  br"t<i. 
but  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sad- 
ducees."  Thus  whilst  the  disciples  had  an  idea  of 
bread,  the  Lord  had  an  idea  of  doctrine,  which  is 
quite  a  different  idea.  But  the  Lord's  idea  is  the 
true  idea,  which  the  church  by  its  doctrine  ought  to 
teach,  and  not  the  gross  material  idea. 

Many  other  instances  might  also  be  adduced  to 
show  that  the  Scriptures  themselves  plainly  indicate 
these  two  classes  of  ideas.  It  will  also,  no  doubt, 
be  admitted  that  God,  by  the  influx  of  his  life,  "  as 
the  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world,"  not  only  gives  us  the  power  to  think,  but 
that  by  his  Spirit  He  also  illustrates  the  ideas  of  our 
thought,  in  proportion  as  they  are  founded  in  truth. 

Now,  the  first  and  most  essential  principle  in  the- 
ology is  a  true  idea  of  God.  If  this  idea  is  correct, 
all  other  subjects  of  doctrine  will  more  or  less  par- 


28  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

take  of  the  clearness  ;  but  if  this  idea  is  erroneous, 
all  things  in  the  theological  system  we  embrace  will 
partake  of  the  error.  The  New  Church  maintains 
that  the  true  idea  of  God  is  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  his  "Glorious  Body,"  or  Divine  Humanity. 
It  is  expressly  declared  that  "in  Him  dwelleth  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily  ; "  it  therefore  inevi- 
tably follows  that,  if  "  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead, 
or  Deity,  dwells  in  Him  bodily,"  there  can  be  but 
ONE  PERSON  of  the  Godhead.  The  New  Church, 
in  consequence,  considers,  that  the  Athanasian  doc- 
trine of  three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  which  is  so 
commonly  believed,  is  a  most  fatally  erroneous  dog- 
ma, because  it  destroys  in  the  minds  of  nearly  all 
who  believe  it  the  idea  that  God  is  ONE,  which  is 
the  foundation  of  all  true  religion.  Hence  from  the 
fourth  century  this  doctrine  has  been  the  cause  of  so 
much  darkness  and  of  so  many  bitter  controversies 
in  the  church.  Whereas,  had  the  true  idea  of  God 
been  maintained,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
this  darkness,  and  this  state  of  discord  and  hatred, 
would  have  been  to  a  great  extent  avoided. 

The  common  belief,  as  expressed  in  the  Athana- 
sian creed,  says,  "As  we  are  compelled  by  the  Chris- 
tian verity  to  acknowledge  every  Person  by  himself 
to  be  God  and  Lord,  so  are  we  forbidden  by  the  Cath- 
olic religion  to  say  there  be  three  Gods  or  three 
Lords."  This  sentence,  which  expresses  the  cen- 
tral idea  of  the  creed,  inculcates  the  acknowledg- 
ment or  belief  of  three  Gods  in  the  thought,  but 
forbids  the  mouth  to  say  so.  The  consequence  is 
that  a  very  great  majority  who  worship  and  think 


A    TRINITY   OF   ESSENTIALS.  29 

according  to  this  creed  have  the  idea  of  three  Gods 
deeply  impressed  in  their  thoughts ;  but  that  this  idea 
is  destructive  of  the  true  idea  of  God  as  ONE,  we 
need  not  stop  to  demonstrate.  Although  the  Athan- 
asian  creed  is  not  read  among  all  the  dissent  inir  de* 
nominations,  yet  wherever  the  doctrine  of  Three 
Persons  in  the  Deity  is  acknowledged,  the  same  fact 
obtains,  that  in  their  thought  they  have  a  notion  of 
three  Gods.  Many  who  have  been  delivered  from 
this  erroneous  dogma  have  confessed  that  they  had 
conceived  a  notion  of  three  Gods. 

But  it  may  be  replied,  that  with  your  idea  of  one 
Person  in  the  Godhead,  who  is  Jesus  Christ  in  his 
"  Glorious  Body,"  or  Divine  Humanity,  you  must 
necessarily  deny  the  Trinity.  By  no  means.  A 
Trinity  in  God  is  essential  to  the  existence  of 'God  ; 
and  therefore  a  knowledge  of  the  Trinity  is  essential 
to  a  true  idea  of  God,  for  the  Trinity  may  be  called 
the  "fulness  of  the  Godhead;"  but  as  Paul  ex- 
pressly declares  "  that  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
dwells  bodily  in  Jesus  Christ,"  it  follows  that  the 
Trinity  dwells  also  in  Him.  Not,  indeed,  a  Trinity 
of  Persons,  but  a  Trinity  of  Essentials.  We  say 
Essentials,  because  there  are  three  essentials  neces- 
sary to  constitute  any  one  given  thing.  Thus,  to 
form  a  man,  who  is  divinely  said  to  be  created  in 
the  image  of  God,  the  first  Essential  is  his  soul,  the 
second  his  body,  and  the  third  his  operation  or  his 
activity  in  life.  We  call  them  Essentials,  because, 
take  away  any  one  of  these  necessary  constituents 
of  his  being,  and  he  would  cease  to  he  a  man.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  sun,  which  is  also  an  image 


30  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

of  God  as  the  u  Sun  of  Righteousness."  The  first 
Essential  is  its  heat,  the  second  its  light,  and  the  third 
its  vivifying  operation  upon  all  things  in  nature. 
And,  universally,  everything,  in  order  to  he  a  thing, 
has  its  essence,  its  form,  and  its  uses.  It  is  thus  that 
u  the  invisible  things  of  God  "  (even  the  Trinity),  as 
the  Apostle  says,  "are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  that  are  made."  The  Trinity, 
according  to  the  idea  of  Three  Persons,  is  always 
considered,  and  truly,  to  be  incomprehensible  and 
an  impenetrable  mystery.  But  the  Lord  says  that 
to  his  disciples  "  is  given  to  know  the  mysteries  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  consequently,  the  mystery 
of  the  Athanasian  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  not  one 
of  the  mysteries,  that  is,  of  the  essential  truths,  of 
his  kingdom. 

The  Lord  declares  that  the  "  Father  dwells  in 
Him  ;  "  and  He  also  says  that  he  that  "  seeth  Him 
seeth  the  Father;"  and  again,  that  "He  and  the 
Father  are  one."  These  and  other  declarations  of 
similar  import  show  us  that  the  Father  dwells  in  the 
Son,  as  the  soul  dwells  in  the  body,  and  that  the 
nature  of  the  oneness  between  them  is  that  of  the 
oneness  or  union  of  the  soul  and  the  body.  As  the 
doctrine  of  Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead  forms  the 
basis  and  bulwark  of  orthodoxy  so  called,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  the  discussion  must  not  only  commence 
here,  but  that  the  foundation  must  be  decided  before 
we  can  proceed  to  discuss  the  other  great  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  such  as  the  Atonement,  Redemp- 
tion, etc.  The  position,  therefore,  we  maintain  as 
the  foundation  of  all  true  orthodoxy  is,  that  there 


GOD   IN  CHRIST.  31 

is  One  Person  in  the  Godhead,  and  not  three — "Hoar, 
O  Israel,  the  Lord  thy  God  is  ONE  Lord  ;  "  and  that 
that  One  Person  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead,  or  the  Divine  Trinity, 
dwells  bodily. 

But  my  opponent  will,  no  doubt,  and  reasonably, 
ask — uHow,  then,  do  you  reconcile  all  those  pas- 
sages in  the  Gospel,  in  which  Jesus  speaks  of  the 
Father  as  separate  from  himself,  and  as  (in  his  agony 
on  the  cross)  having  forsaken  Him  ?  "  These  pas- 
sages are  easily  explained  as  consistent  with  the  idea 
of  one  Person.  For  Jesus  took  upon  himself  "  the 
likeness  of  sinful  flesh,"  "  the  form  of  a  servant ;  " 
"  He  humbled  himself,"  etc.  In  this  state  of  hu- 
miliation He  bore  our  "  infirmities  and  our  sick- 
nesses," a'nd  "was  laden  with  our  iniquities,"  etc. 
Now,  in  this  state  of  humiliation,  or  of  merely  hu- 
man consciousness,  He  prays  to  the  Father,  or  to  the 
Divinity  within  Him  ;  implores  help,  declares  "  that 
of  his  own  self  He  can  do  nothing,"  and  in  the  deep- 
est temptation  on  the  cross  expresses  himself  as  be- 
ing in  a  state  of  despair.  But  when  in  his  state  of 
glorification,  or  in  his  state  of  divine  consciousness, 
He  claims  equality  and  oneness  with  the  Father,  and 
says—"  All  things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine  ;  " 
"I  and  the  Father  are  one  ;"  "He  that  seeth  me 
hath  seen  the  Father  ;  "  "  He  that  seeth  me  seeth 
Him  that  sent  me,"  etc.  He  was,  whilst  in  the  world, 
alternately  in  these  states  of  humiliation  and  glori- 
fication, which  are  distinctly  marked  in  the  Gospels. 

To  draw  any  arguments,  therefore,  from  what 
Jesus  says  of  himself  in  his  state  of  humiliation, 


32  THE   NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

against  his  Divinity,  as  the  Socinians  do,  is  most 
erroneous.  But  as  Jesus,  after  his  resurrection,,was 
in  a  state  of  glorification  only.  He  no  longer  prays 
to  the  Father,  but  is  altogether  one  with  the  Father, 
as  the  soul  is  one  with  the  body.  After  his  resur- 
rection "He  breathed  upon  his  disciples  and  said, 
Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost. "  This  shows  us  plainly 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  divine  operation  of  Jesus, 
and  that  it  proceeds  from  Him  in  his  Divine  Person 
or  "Glorious  Body."  The  Holy  Spirit  is  therefore 
his  living  action  upon  us,  "by  which  He  works  within 
us,  if  we  do  not  quench  or  resist  the  Spirit,"  the 
blessings  of  regeneration  and  salvation. 

Lastly,  it  will  follow  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
the  Humanity  or  "Glorious  Body"  of  Jesus  must 
by  no  means  be  considered  as  like  the  humanity  or 
body  of  a  man,  or  of  an  angel,  but  that  it  is  Divine, 
as  being  the  seat  "  of  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead," 
and  that  Jesus  with  his  "  Glorious  Body  "  hath  "  as- 
cended far  above  all  heavens  that  He  might  fill  all 
things,"  and  exercise  "  all  power  in  heaven  and  on 
earth."  (Matt,  xxviii.  18.) 

Thus  the  New  Church  maintains  as  the  funda- 
mental truth,  the  "precious  Corner-Stone  "  of  Chris- 
tianity, that  there  is  one  Person  of  the  Godhead  in 
whom  "all  the  fulness  of  the  Deity  dwells  bodily," 
and  that  this  one  Person  is  the  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  the  one  only  true  Object  of  worship  ; 
that  "  at  his  name  every  knee  should  bow  of  things 
in  heaven  and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the 
earth  ;  "  and  that  we  must,  through  faith  and  love, 
"eat  his  Flesh  and  drink  his  Blood,"  or,  become 


THE  PRECIOUS  CORNER-STONE.  33 

receptive  of  his  divine  Love  and  Truth,  in  order  that 
we  may  have  heavenly  life  within  us,  and  thus  be 
saved.  We  also  believe  that  it  is  mainly  owing  to 
the  rejection  of  this  precious  Corner-Stone — this 
fundamental  truth,  through  the  establishment  of 
three  Persons  in  the  Trinity — that  Christianity  has 
for  ages  past,  both  as  to  doctrine  and  life,  been  in  a 
most  desolate  and  ruined  condition  ;  and  that  it  can 
only  be  restored  by  establishing  this  Stone  as  the 
"  precious  Corner-Stone  which  the  builders  have  re- 
jected." 

I  am,  etc.  A.  V. 


LETTEE  II. 
THIS  STONE  REJECTED  BY  THE  BUILDERS. 

IR: — In   my  opponent's  reply  to    my   first 
letter,  I  have  to  thank  him  for  his  Christian 
courtesy  and  kindness.    Your  correspondent 
says, — 

"  "  That  it  shall  be  his  endeavor  to  show  that  truth 
and  harmony  dwell  with  those  who  have  received  a 
very  different  system  [of  theology]  from  that  of 
Emanuel  Swedenborg." 

This  assertion  of  your  correspondent  must,  I  think, 
awaken  the  astonishment  of  all  who  reflect  that  any- 
thing but  truth  and  harmony  dwells  in  the  system 
which  he  undertakes  to  advocate.  Where,  for  ex- 
ample, is  the  harmony  of  which  he  speaks  among  the 
conflicting  sects  ?  Is  not  the  Church  of  England, 
whose  thirty-nine  articles  are  considered  to  be  the 
bulwark  of  orthodoxy,  at  this  moment  rent  asunder 
Jyy  the  direst  conflict  of  opinions  as  to  many  import- 
ant articles  of  Eaith  V  Is  not  Oxford  at  this  moment 
agitated  by  bitter  controversies  respecting  the  Atone- 
ment (as  in  Mr.  Jowett's  case)  and  other  articles  of 
vital  importance  in  respect  to  Theology  ?  Where, 
then,  is  the  harmony  which,  as  C.  B.  asserts,  exists 
in  the  so-called  orthodoxy  he  would  endeavor  to 
maintain  against  the  system  of  Theology  as  advo- 

34 


NEW  IDEAS  IN   THEOLOGY.  35 

cated  in  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  ?  And 
among  the  denominations  do  we  not  behold  the  ut- 
most confusion  on  many  subjects  of  doctrine  ?  Surely 
your  correspondent,  as  a  polemic,  was  off  his  guard 
when  he  claimed,  as  in  the  above  words,  harmony 
for  the  system  he  undertakes  to  defend  ! 
'  I  am  perfectly  aware  that  new  principles  and  ideas 
in  theology,  although  drawn  exclusively,  as  I  verily 
believe,  from  the  Word  of  God,  cannot  at  once  be  ac- 
knowledged as  true  by  those  who  from  their  youth 
have  been  trained  and  brought  up  in  other  princi- 
ples and  doctrines.  Hence  the  Lord  says,  u  No  man, 
having  drunk  old  wine,  straightway  desireth  new  ; 
for  he  saith,  the  old  is  better"  (Luke  v.  39),  which 
implies  that  those  who  had  been  educated  in  the 
ideas  and  doctrines  of  the  Jewish  church,  and  who 
had  imbibed  those  principles,  could  not  at  once  receive 
the  new  ideas  and  doctrines  which  He  was  then  teach- 
ing. For  it  will,  no  doubt,  be  at  once  admitted  that 
the  Lord  does  not  in  this  passage  mean  the  material 
idea  of  old  and  new  wine,  but  the  principles  which 
the  mind  had  drunk  or  imbibed,  according  to  what 
was  said  in  my  former  letter  respecting  the  u  leaven 
of  bread,"  which  in  the  Lord's  idea  signified  not 
bread,  but  the  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees.  (See  p.  27.) 
But  my  friendly  opponent  admits  the  necessity  of 
distinguishing  between  material  or  sensuous  ideas  and 
such  as  are  intellectual  and  spiritual.  Calm  consider- 
ation and  reflection  are  required  for  the  reception  of 
Truth. 

The  question  between  us  is,  not  whether  any  new 
revelation  of  God's  will  is  required— for  we  are  per- 


36  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

fectly  agreed  that  the  Scriptures  contain,  in  all  ful- 
ness, a  revelation  of  the  will  and  wisdom  of  God,  to 
which  nothing  is  required  to  be  added— bub  the  ques- 
tion is,  whether  we  can  now  better  understand  that 
revelation  than  our  ancestors  did  ;  whether  we  can 
now  have  a  spiritual  and  more  elevated  "discern- 
ment" (1  Cor.  ii.  14)  of  their  divine  contents  than 
was  formerly  the  case  ;  in  short,  whether  progress  is 
predicable  of  religious  and  spiritual  knowledge,  as 
well  as  of  all  other  kinds  of  knowledge.  The  New 
Church  maintains  that  the  creeds  and  symbols  of 
former  times  are,  although  professedly  founded  upon 
the  Scriptures,  nevertheless  quite  a  different  thing 
from  Scripture  itself,  and  that  the  theology  which 
those  creeds  and  articles  of  faith  embody  is  not  the 
correct  and  true  expression  of  God's  Word  ;  but  that 
a  better  understanding  of  the  Scriptures  may  now, 
through  God's  mercy,  be  obtained,  in  order  to  meet 
the  growing  requirements  of  the  rational  mind  .and 
to  satisfy  the  awakened  spirit  of  rational  inquiry. 

My  respected  opponent  is  fully  aware,  from  his  ex- 
tensive knowledge  of  the  literature  of  the  day,  that 
it  is  the  growing  opinion  of  the  age  that,  unless  the 
wants  of  the  more  fully  developed  and  educated  mind 
are  now  met  and  supplied,  as  to  the  solution  of  many 
points  of  Christian  faith,  either  a  rampant  rational- 
ism on  the  one  hand,  or  an  avowed  infidelity  on  the 
other,  will,  like  Gog  and  Magog  of  old,  endeavor  to 
lay  waste  the  Israel  of  God,  to  destroy  the  Scriptures 
as  the  Word  of  God,  and  to  devastate  Christianity 
so  as  to  deprive  it  of  everything  spiritual  but  the 
name. 


SYSTEMS  BASED    ON  APPEARANCES.        37 

There  was  a  time  when  the  belief  in  the  Ptole- 
maic system  of  astronomy  was  almost  universal ; 
but  this  system  did  not  satisfy  the  more  rationally- 
developed  minds  of  Copernicus,  Galileo  and  Newton. 
These  men  maintained  that  the  former  astronomical 
systems  were  founded  on  appearances  and  fallacies, 
and  not  on  genuine  truths.  All  men  of  science  now 
believe  they  were  right,  and  their  opponents  wrong. 
There  are,  also,  appearances  of  truth  in  the  Scrip- 
tures as  there  are  in  the  works  of  God  ;  and  the  Lord 
says,  u  Judge  not  according  to  appearance,  but  judge 
righteous  judgment ; "  warning  us  not  to  judge  ac- 
cording to  the  first  impressions  on  our  senses,  or 
according  to  our  merely  sensuous  perceptions  of 
revealed  things,  but  according  to  a  spiritual  and 
rational  discernment  of  their  nature,  and  thus  to 
come  to  a  just  or  "righteous  judgment,"  in  which 
alone  the  human  mind  can  find  its  rest  and  its 
peace. 

Now,  permit  me  to  state  my  sincere  belief,  from  a 
long  experience  as  to  both  sides  of  the  question  which 
now  engages  our  attention,  and  also  the  belief  of  an 
increasing  number  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  that  what 
Copernicus,  Galileo  and  Newton  have  done,  in  re- 
spect to  astronomy,  by  raising  it  out  of  appearances 
and  fallacies  into  the  sphere  of  genuine  truths,  Swe- 
denborg,  through  God's  Mercy  and  Providence,  has 
done  in  respect  to  Theology.  He  has  solved  the  great 
problems  of  religious  belief  on  the  basis  of  Scripture 
and  of  reason  ;  and,  when  calmly  and  rationally  in- 
vestigated, his  solution  will  be  found  to  satisfy  the 
awakened  spirit  of  rational  inquiry  which  at  present 
4 


38  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

so  much  actuates  all  thinking  and  independent 
minds. 

You  admit,  Mr.  Editor,  that  God  has,  at  sundry 
times,  employed  extraordinary  instruments  to  effect 
great  purposes  and  changes  as  to  his  Church.  Thus 
Luther,  Wesley,  and  others  were  men  raised  up  by 
God's  providence  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  age  in 
which  they  lived  and  labored.  Those  were  no  ordi- 
nary men  ;  they  were,  through  God's  power,  equal 
to  the  emergencies  of  their  times,  and  posterity  still 
feels  the  effects  of  their  influence.  Now,  we  believe 
that  Swedenborg  was,  even  in  a  fuller  sense,  an  ex- 
traordinary instrument  of  God's  Providence,  raised 
up  and  endowed  with  the  necessary  illumination  to 
teach  us  how  to  understand  more  clearly  the  truths 
of  Scripture,  and  the  great  problems  of  human  ex- 
istence. All  that  is  required,  as  we  think,  to  see 
this,  is  a  calm  consideration  of  what  he  has  written, 
compared  with  Scripture  and  with  the  rational  de- 
ductions of  that  common-sense  principle  which  is  in 
every  sound-thinking  mind. 

Most  fully  do  I  agree  with  my  opponent  in  the  be- 
lief that  the  works  of  God  corroborate  and  illustrate 
the  Word  of  God — that  "the  heavens  declare  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handy 
work,"  etc.  But  the  works  of  God  in  nature  do  not 
reveal  and  communicate  to  us  religious  and  spiritual 
ideas,  all  which  must  come  from  the  revealed  Word. 
It  is,  however,  most  true  that  God's  works  illustrate 
and  confirm  revealed  Truth  when  properly  discerned. 
It  will  thus,  I  doubt  not,  be  admitted  that  a  true 
Theology  must  be  in  harmony  with  a  true  Science, 


SCIENCE  AND    THEOLOGY.  39 

and  that  "  as  the  eyes  of  a  maiden  are  directed  to 
the  hand  of  her  mistress,"  so  will  the  eyes  of  a  true 
Science  which  treats  of  God's  works,  be  directed  in 
humble  obedience  to  a  true  Theology  which  treats 
of  God's  Word.  But  where  will  you  find,  at  the 
present  day,  this  agreement  ?  Is  not  Science  almost 
by  common  consent  separated  from  Theology,  which 
is  forbidden  to  open  her  mouth  in  any  of  our  scien- 
tific institutions,  lest  discord  and  bitter  controversy 
should  ensue  ?  There  is  a  deep  conviction  in  the 
public  mind  that  the  prevailing  Theology,  although 
it  is  called  orthodox,  is  not  in  agreement  with 
Science  ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  Theology  is 
banished,  although  it  is  the  chief  of  Sciences,  from 
our  scientific  and  literary  institutions.  Were  they 
in  perfect  harmony,  this  certainly  would  not  be  the 
case.  But  Swedenborg,  by  rendering  Theology  at 
the  same  time  Scriptural  and  rational,  has  perfectly 
harmonized  Science  and  Theology,  and  made  them 
both  concur  "  in  declaring  the  glory  of  God." 

As  to  terms,  such  as  the  '•  Holy  Spirit,"  I  wish  to 
use  them  in  the  sense  in  which  Scripture  employs 
them,  for  this  is  the  only  legitimate  sense.  The 
absolute  literal  sense  is,  as  you  are  aware,  the  lioly 
breath  or  wind,  and  this  stands,  like  the  terms  "  flesh 
and  blood,"  as  symbols  of  the  living  principles  from 
the  Lord  on  which,  through  a  "  faith  which  worketh 
by  love,"  we  must  subsist,  in  order  to  become  his 
true  disciples.  I  will  endeavor  to  be  careful  not  to 
use  any  term  or  expression  in  an  ambiguous,  but  in 
the  true  Scriptural  sense. 

I  now  come,  in  my  explanation  or  rejoinder,  to 


40  THE   NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

the  main  point  of  my  opponent's  objections.  u  I 
believe,"  says  my  opponent,  uin  the  essential  unity 
of  God,  for  '  there  is  one  God  ; '  but  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  admit  that  the  Humanity  of  Christ  forms 
any  part  of  Divinity."  Now,  we  may  safely  assert 
that  THE  great  difference  between  the  new  and  the 
old  systems  of  Theology  consists  in  this— that  the 
new  system  believes  that  the  Humanity  of  Jesus  is 
Divine,  as  being  that  "in  which  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  dwells  bodily  ;  "  but  the  other  believes, 
as  C.  B.  affirms,  "  that  the  Humanity  of  Christ  forms 
no  part  of  Diving." 

Let  us,  then,  in  all  candor  and  Christian  love,  con- 
sider this  very  important  point  of  difference  between 
the  two  systems.  And  first,  let  me  advert  to  the 
Conception  of  Jesus.  We  find  it  expressly  declared 
that  He  had  no  human  father  (Matt.  i.  18,  25  ;  Luke 
i.  35),  but  that  the  essential  Divinity  itself,  or  Je- 
hovah, was  his  Father.  A  right  idea  of  this  is  the 
root  of  Christianity.  Thus  we  read  that  "  GOD  was 
in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,"  etc. 
(2  Cor.  v.  19.)  "GOD  was  manifest  in  the  flesh," 
etc.  (1  Tim.  iii.  16.)  "  The  Word,  which  was  with 
God  and  which  was  GOD,  became  flesh,"  etc.  (John 
i.  1,  14.)  In  these  passages  it  is  expressly  declared 
that  God  was  in  Christ,  or  "  manifest  in  the  flesh." 
But  by  the  term  God,  or  Theos,  is  always  meant,  not 
a  part  of  God,  or  an  influence  from  God,  but  God 
himself.  God  cannot  be  divided.  By  regeneration 
God  dwells  in  man  by  his  Spirit ;  but  "  in  Him  who 
received  the  Spirit  of  God  without  measure  "  (John 


NO  ESSENCE   WITHOUT  A    FOR.V.  41 

iii.  34),  that  is,  infinitely,  the  whole  "  fulness  of  !he 
Godhead  dwells  bodily."  (Col.  ii.  9.) 
.  Here,  then,  is  an  infinite  distinction  between  Je- 
sus and  all  others.  Having  no  human  father  as 
every  mere  man  born  into  the  world  has,  He  was,  as 
to  his  SOUL,  infinitely  to  be  distinguished  from  all 
other  men.  In  himself  "  being  in  the  Form  of  God, 
He  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  " 
(Phil.  ii.  6) ;  an  expression  which,  your  intelligent 
readers  well  know,  expresses  the  fullest  claim  of 
identity  with  God. 

Now,  as  every  essence  must  have  a  form  before  it 
can  manifest  itself  and  exert  its  influence,  so  a  Di- 
vine essence  or  Soul  must  have  a  Divine  Form  or 
Body,  in  which  it  can  manifest  itself  and  display  its 
operations.  It  is  accordingly  said  in  the  above  quo- 
tation, that  "  He  being  in  the  form  of  God,"  etc. 
The  term  form,  as  you  well  know  from  the  Greek 
expression,  denotes  a  substantiality,  or  a  form  visible 
to  the  eye  of  faith,  as  is  also  evident  from  the  same 
term  being  employed  to  signify  the  "  form  of  a  ser- 
vant," or  a  substantiality  visible  to  the  eye  of  the 
body.  God  is  certainly  a  Spirit  (John  iv.) ;  but  of  a 
spirit,  permit  me  to  say,  we  must  not  conceive  as  of 
an  unsubstantial  somewhat  inconceivable  to  our  in- 
tellectual perceptions ;  for  man  also  is  SL  spirit,  clothed 
for  a  time  with  a  material  body.  But  his  spirit  is 
the  substantial  man  himself,  which  lives  forever, 
and  of  which  even  now  all  the  life  and  intelligence 
which  a  man  has  are  properly  predicated.  The  spirit 
of  a  man  is  the  substantial  centre  of  all  his  mental 
life,  of  his  will,  of  his  intellect,  and  of  their  opera- 


42  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

tions.  For  these  things  do  not  properly  belong  to 
the  poor  perishable  body,  but  to  the  spirit  which  is 
in  the  body. 

God,  therefore,  according  to  the  Apostle,  has  a 
Form  ;  not  a  metaphysical  abstraction  which  exists 
only  in  the  imagination,  but  a  Divine  Substantial 
Form,  not  material,  but  infinitely  exalted  above  the 
laws  of  matter,  space  and  time.  Now,  what  is  this 
"  Form  of  God"  in  which  Christ  is  expressly  de- 
clared to  be,  but  "  his  Glorious  Body  "  (Phil.  iii.  21) 
in  which  "He  hath  ascended  far  above  all  heavens 
that  He  may  fill  all  things  "  ?  What  but  a  "  Glori- 
ous Body,"  or  a  Divine  Humanity,  can  "  ascend  far 
above  all  heavens,"  and  "  dwell  in  the  light  which 
no  man  can  approach  unto,"  and  exercise  "  all  power 
in  heaven  and  on  earth  "  ?  (Matt,  xxviii.  18. )  u  For 
He,"  as  the  Apostle  says,  "  upholdeth  all  things  by 
the  word  of  his  power,  and  it  is  by  Him  that  all 
things  consist." 

But  my  opponent  may  probably  say,  We  can  form 
no  conception  of  this  "Form  of  God"  which  you 
allege  is  Christ's  glorious  Body,  or  Divine  Humanity. 
Permit  me,  however,  to  state  that  the  Lord  in  the 
Gospels  has  taught  us  how  to  conceive  of  this  "  glo- 
rious Body."  For  when  He  was  transfigured,  "his 
face  shone  as  the  sun,  and  his  garments  were  white  as 
the  light."  This  is  his  glorious  Body,  or  his  Divine 
Humanity,  or  the  "  Form  of  God."  And  of  this,  as 
He  has  mercifully  revealed  himself,  we  can  form  a 
conception.  Jesus  in  his  ordinary  appearance  before 
the  bodily  eyes  of  his  disciples  and  others,  was  in  the 
"likeness  of  sinful  flesh,"  in  the  "form  of  a  ser- 


CHRIST'S  HUMANITY  DIVINE.  43 

vant,"  in  which  "He  humbled  himself  even  to  the 
' death  of  the  cross  ;  "  but  when  his  disciples,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  transfiguration,  were  "in  >/ 
that  is,  in  the  spirit,  they  saw  Him  in  his  glorious 
Body.  At  the  period  of  his  crucifixion  and  resur- 
rection, He  put  off  the  "  form  of  a  servant,"  and 
fully  "  put  on  the  Form  of  God"  or  the  Divine  Hu- 
manity, in  which  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  one, 
as  the  soul  and  body  are  one.  The  Gospels,  as  we 
understand  them,  are  full  of  the  evidence  of  the 
Divinity  of  Christ,  that  is,  the  Divinity  of  his  Hu- 
manity. When  He  says,  "  Come  unto  me,"  kk  Lrarn 
of  me,"  "I  will  give  you  rest,"  etc.,  He  shows  us 
that  in  his  Divine  Humanity  He  is  the  Object  of 
worship  to  whom  we  must  come,  and  that  He  alone 
can-  give  us  rest  and  salvation.  1  n  like,  manner,  when 
He  says  that  "  we  must  come  unto  Him  that  we  may 
have  life,"  that  we  must  "  eat  Him,"  must  "  eat  his 
flesh,"  etc.,  that  we  may  live,  what  declarations  can 
be  plainer  than  these  to  teach  us  that  his  Humanity 
is  Divine  ?  In  the  Apocalypse  this  fact  is  even  more 
evident ;  for  as  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  in  his  glory,  He 
declares  that  He  is  "  the  first  and  the  last,  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end,  the  Almighty  :  "  all  of  which  terms 
are  predicated  of  Him  in  his  Humanity.  He  also 
says  that  "He  alone  can  open  and  no  man  shut," 
etc. ;  He  alone  addresses  the  churches,  and  He  alone 
gives  all  the  felicities  of  heaven.  That  He  is  om- 
nipresent in  his  Humanity,  He  declares  when  He 
says,  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in 
my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  Space, 
however,  I  am  aware,  will  not  allow  me  to  enlarge. 


44  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

But  my  opponent  says  in  respect  to  the  Trinity  of 
Persons,  u  that  he  is  conscious  he  cannot  comprehend 
the  mystery."  Permit  me  to  state  that  a  Trinity  of 
Persons  is  incomprehensible,  because  it  is  unscrip- 
•  tural  and  irrational,  but  not  a  Trinity  of  Essentials 
in  one  Person  answering  to  the  sowZ,  the  body  and  the 
operation  in  man,  who  is  "  in  the  image  of  God  ;  "  for 
we  cannot  possibly  understand  what  a  man  is  unless 
we  understand  him  in  this  three-fold  capacity,  or  as 
a  trine;  and,  as  shown  in  my  former  letter,  there  is 
a  trine  or  three-fold  principle  in  everything  that  God 
has  made,  as  in  the  sun  and  in  every  object ;  and  this, 
because  there  is  a  trine  or  Trinity  in  God  from  whom 
all  things  come.  The  Lord  says  that  "  to  his  disci- 
ples is  given  to  know  the  mysteries  of  his  kingdom,"  of 
which  the  Trinity  is,  no  doubt,  the  most  important. 
He  also  requires  us  a  to  understand  what  we  read." 
(Matt.  xxiv.  15.) 

I  perfectly  agree  with  my  opponent  in  the  belief 
that  there  was  a  Trinity  prior  to  the  incarnation.  But 
not  such  a  Trinity  as  after  the  incarnation.  There 
was,  prior  to  the  incarnation,  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  these  were  in  the  inmost 
principles  of  Deity,  not  "declared,"  or,  as  in  the 
Greek  text,  "brought  forth  to  view"  (John  i.  18) ; 
that  is,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  were  brought 
forth  to  view  in  the  Person  of  Jesus,  who  says,  uHe 
that  seeth  me,  seeth  the  Father,"  and  who  after  his 
glorification  u  breathed  on  his  disciples  and  said,  Re- 
ceive ye  the  Holy  Spirit."  (John  xx.  22.)  The  spe- 
cific difference  between  the  u  Spirit  of  God,"  called 
also  the  "  Spirit  of  Holiness,"  which  operated  prior 


WHY  CALLED  A    MEDIATOR.  45 

to  the  incarnation,  and  the  "  Holy  Spirit,  "which  pro- 
ceeded from  Jesus  after  that  event,  will  be  explained 
when  we  come  to  treat  specifically  on  that  subject. 

And  all  this  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  un- 
changeable nature  of  God.  For  God  did  not  chanire 
his  nature  by  becoming  ''manifest  in  the  flesh  "  for 
the  purpose  of  redemption,  any  more  than  a  man  of 
war  changes  his  nature  by  clothing  himself  with  the 
necessary  armor  to  combat  his  enenflfcs.  lie  takrs 
to  himself  a  medium  for  the  purpose,  but  he  does  not 
change  himself.  So  God,  by  clothing  Himself  with 
our  humanity,  took  to  Himself  a  Medium  for  the  pur- 
pose of  redemption.  This  medium  He  glorified  or 
made  Divine,  and  this  is  now  and  forever  the  "Medi- 
ator between  God  and  man."  "No  man  cometh  to 
the  Father  but  by  me."  But  in  my  subsequent  let- 
ters all  these  points,  especially  when  we  come  to  treat 
of  the  Atonement,  will  be  more  fully  cleared  up.  I 
will  only  observe  that  the  term  in  Greek  denoting  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  in  the  neuter  gender,  except  when  des- 
ignated as  the  Comforter. 

When  Swedenborg  uses  the  term  "arcanum  from 
heaven,"  he  means  a  truth  brought  forth  from  the 
Scriptures,  but  not  hitherto  seen  and  acknowledged. 
For  all  the  wisdom  of  angels  and  all  the  truths  of 
heaven  are  from  the  Word  of  God,  "  which  is  forever 
established  in  heaven." 

I  am,  etc., 

A.Y. 


LETTER  III. 
THE  DIVINE  HUMANITY  AND  REDEMPTION. 

9 

)IR: — I  have  just  perused  my  respected  op- 
"   ponent's  reply  to  my  second  letter.     I  am 


glad  to*  see  that  "  He  thinks  scarcely  any 
intelligent  Christian  is  opposed  to  inquiry  as  to  the 
reception  of  new  light  from  the  Word  of  God. "  But 
no  new  light  or  truth  can  come  from  any  other 
source  than  from  Him  who  is  the  Light  and  the 
Truth  itself.  A  new  idea  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 
shall  exalt  Him  more  in  our  faith  and  love,  cannot, 
I  am  persuaded,  be  unwelcome  to  any  intelligent 
Christian.  This  new  and  exalted  idea  is  presented 
in  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church.  As  He  is  ac- 
knowledged not  only  to  be  the  head,  but  the  all  in 
all  of  his  church,  we  think  that  the  view  taken  of 
Him,  is  the  criterion  by  which  to  judge  of  the  truth 
and  excellency  or  otherwise  of  any  system  profess- 
ing to  be  Christian.  In  this  respect  I  must  impress 
upon  your  numerous  readers,  that  the  doctrines  of 
the  NQW  Church  have  the  most  solemn  claims  upon 
their  attention. 

My  opponent  refers  to  Gal.  i.  6-9,  u  about  another 
Gospel  than  that  which  the  Apostle  preached. "  Let 
me  ask  my  opponent  seriously  whether  He  thinks 
that  the  doctrines  now  commonly  preached,  are 
not  another  Gospel  than  that  which  the  Apostle 
preached  V  Did  not  the  Apostle  preach,  according 

46 


WHENCE  IS  MORMONISM?  47 

to  the  motto  of  your  liberal  and  talented  paper,  that 
charity  is  the  greatest  of  Christian  graces  ?  But 
what  does  the  Christian  world  for  the  most  part 
teach  ?  It  teaches  justification  and  salvation  hy 
faith  only  as  the  chief  of  Christian  graces,  and  leaves 
charity  almost  out  of  sight  as  a  means  of  salvation. 
Is  not  this  another  Gospel  ?  Did  not  the  Apostle 
plainly  teach  that  Jesus  Christ  in  his  "glorious 
Body  "  is  the  very  "  form  of  Go.d,"  in  whom  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwells  ?  Is  this  now  taught? 
— but  is  not  quite  another  Gospel  taught  ?  On  this 
point  surely  every  thoughtful  Christian  when  read- 
ing the  Gospel,  is  led  to  make  a  distinction  in  his 
thoughts  between  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  Mart/,  and 
Jesus  when  glorified  as  the  "Son  of  God"  This  is 
the  distinction  upon  which  we  insist  in  order  to 
arrive  at  the  idea  of  the  Divine  Humanity.  But 
more  of  this  in  the  sequel. 

My  opponent  alludes  to  the  Mormons.  Permit 
me  to  state  that  no  two  classes  of  persons  can  be 
more  opposite,  than  the  people  of  the  New  Church 
called  "Swedenborgians,"  and  the  Mormons.  But 
whence  is  Mormonism  ?  Is  it  not  an  outgrowth  of 
the  corrupt  state  of  Christianity  both  as  to  doctrine 
and  life  ?  Ought  not  this  appalling  fact  to  make 
thoughtful  minds  review  the  prevailing  doctrines, 
and  see  whether  there  is  not  something  radically 
wrong  which  permits,  or  gives  rise  to,  such  an  out- 
growth of  corruption  ? 

"How  can  I  think,"  says  my  friendly  opponent, 
"  that  the  apostolic  churches  knew  less  of  the  will 
of  God  than  I  do,  when  they  had  the  privilege  of 


48  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

apostles  ? "  etc.  But  permit  me  to  remind  him 
that  the  apostles  often  reprove  the  churches  for  not 
making  greater  progress  in  the  spiritual  knowledge 
of  Christianity.  "I  have  fed  you,"  says  Paul  to 
the  Corinthians,  "with  milk,  and  not  with  meat; 
for  hitherto  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it,  neither  yet 
now  are  ye  able,  for  ye  are  yet  carnal,"  etc.  (1  Cor. 
iii.  2,  3.)  It  is  to  be  feared  that  there  are  very  many 
now  in  the  same  predicament,  and  who  do  not  make 
that  progress  which  the  Apostle  would  require.  The 
New  Church  doctrines,  if  considered,  will  afford  to 
all  this  meat  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks,  and  enable 
them  to  make  progress  in  the  knowledge  and  love 
of  divine  truths  from  the  Word  of  God. 

Science,  it  is  true,  has  made  great  progress  since 
Swedenborg's  day;  but  how  can  a  system  of  theology 
of  which,  from  the  Trinity  downwards,  every  doc- 
trine is  acknowledged  to  be  an  impenetrable  mys- 
tery, be  in  harmony  with  science  ?  Our  scientific 
men  are  now — judging,  at  least,  from  appearances 
— more  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  piety,  and  more 
ready  to  acknowledge  God  in  his  works  than  form- 
erly ;  but  this  does  not  prove  that  science  and  the 
prevailing  theology  are  in  spiritual  and  rational  har- 
mony. But  the  theology  of  the  New  Church  is  in 
harmony  with  true  science. 

As  to  the  resurrection,  we  shall  see,  when  we  come 
to  treat  of  that  subject,  how  fully  the  doctrine  of  the 
Apostle,  that  there  is  a  "  natural  body  and  a  spirit- 
ual body,"  and  that  u  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God,"  is  confirmed  by  the  doctrines 
of  the  New  Church.  The  form  of  a  dove  at  the  bap- 


THE  ESSENTIAL    CHRISTIAN  DOCTRINE.     49 

tism,  to  which  my  opponent  alludes,  as  the  symbol 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  plainly  shows,  as  we  shall  see  in 
subsequent  discussions,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  a 
Person.  If  each  Person  is  co-equal,  as  is  declared, 
and  has  a  Divine  mind,  there  must  be  three  Gods ; 
but  if  the  three  have  a  Divine  mind  among  llu'in, 
either  one  must  be  the  real  God,  and  the  other  have 
dependent  derivations,  or  each  has  a  third  part  of 
the  Divine  mind,  which,  as  God  is  indivisible,  can- 
not be  admitted.  From  this  dilemma  every  thought- 
ful mind  would  wish  to  be  delivered  ;  and  the  New 
Church  doctrine  of  three  Essentials  in  one  Person, 
affords  the  means  of  deliverance.  All  my  Scripture 
references  in  proof  of  the  Divine  Humanity  of  Jesus 
remain  intact.  I  am  glad  that  my  opponent  has  his 
Greek  New  Testament  before  him,  as  we  shall  un- 
derstand each  other  better. 

In  my  last  letter,  with  your  kind  permission,  I 
dwelt  much  on  the  essential  doctrine  of  the  Church 
of  the  New  Jerusalem— the  u Glorious  Body,"  or 
the  Divine  Humanity  of  Jesus.  We  consider  this 
doctrine  to  be  so  essential,  so  vital  to  a  genuine 
Christianity,  that  it  cannot  possibly  exist  in  its  love, 
truth,  holiness  and  beauty,  without  it.  When  the 
Lord  says,  "  Ye  will  not  come  unto  me,  that  ye  may 
have  life  "  (John  v.  40),  together  with  many  other 
declarations  of  a  similar  import,  He  plainly,  as  we 
think,  teaches  us  that  his  "Glorious  Body,"  es- 
pecially as  it  is  now,  in  its  resurrection  and  ascension 
glory,  "  far  above  all  heavens,"  having  u  all  power 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,"  is  not  only  the  residence 
"of  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead,"  but  the  only 
5  D 


50  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

fountain  of  life  to  all.  For  what  but  a  Divine  per- 
sonal form,  called  by  the  Apostle  the  "  form  of  God," 
can  be  the  residence  of  the  fulness  of  the  Deity? 
Of  what  other  form  can  it  be  said  that  "  we  must 
eat  the  flesh,"  which  is  the  essential  divine  Love, 
and  "  drink  the  blood,"  which  is  the  essential  divine 
Truth,  in  order  that  we  may  have  life  within  us  ? 
But  flesh  and  blood  are  the  very  elements  of  hu- 
manity ;  consequently  the  Humanity  of  Jesus  is  es- 
sentially Divine. 

We  by  no  means  understand  Swedenborg  to  teach 
that  the  Lord  had  "  three  distinct  humanities  ; "  but 
that  He  had  a  humanity  from  the  Virgin  mother, 
which  was  u  in  the  form  of  a  servant "  and  "like  unto 
his  brethren  "  (Heb.  ii.  17),  is  not  doubted ;  and  that 
by  glorification,  the  final  process  of  which  was  ef- 
fected by  his  death  on  the  cross  and  his  subsequent 
resurrection,  He  completely  put  off  the  "form  of  a 
servant,"  and  put  on  the  uform  of  God,"  as  repre- 
sented, in  so  far  as  He  was  then  glorified,  by  u  his 
face  shining  as  the  sun, "  etc,,  on  the  Mount  of  Trans- 
figuration, is  equally  a  divine  truth  of  revelation, 
which  we  think  is  the  essential  basis  of  a  living 
Christianity,  both  in  the  individual  mind  and  in  the 
aggregate  of  minds,  on  which  basis  the  church  both 
in  heaven  and  on  earth  must  be  established.  Thus, 
as  to  his  Glorious  Body  or  Divine  Humanity,  He 
says,  "I,  when  I  am  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  me."  (John  xii.  32.)  Thus  He  is 
the  Divine  Centre  of  attraction,  and  blessed  are  all 
they  who,  through  a  right  faith  in  Him,  and  through 


THE   TWO   HUMANITIES.  51 

a  fervent  love  of  Him,  by  keeping  his  commandments, 
come  into  this  sphere  of  attraction. 

We  know  that  the  Lord's  glorification  is  the  per- 
fect pattern  of  our  regeneration,  or  that  our  rcu- •  it- 
eration is  the  image  of  his  glorification  ;  hence  He 
so  often  says  that  we  are  to  u follow  Him."  Now, 
"we  have  to  put  off  the  old  man,  and  by  being  re- 
newed in  the  spirit  of  our  mind,  to  put  on  th< 
man,"  etc.  (Eph.  iv.  22,  23.)  From  this  it  also  ap- 
pears that  a  man  is  the  subject  of  two  humanities — 
the  old  which  by  regeneration  he  puts  off,  and  the 
new  which  by  the  same  renewing  process  he  puts  on. 
If  an  individual  man  during  regeneration  is  the  sub- 
ject of  two  humanities,  it  need  not  surprise  us  that 
the  Lord  himself  was  similarly  circumstanced  ;  with 
this  great  difference,  however,  that  He  put  on,  from 
the  Divinity  within  Him,  a  Divine  Humauit}r,  where- 
as we  put  on,  from  Him,  a  regenerated  or  spiritual 
humanity,  called  also  by  the  Apostle  u  the  spiritual 
mind  in  which  is  life  and  peace."  (Kom.  viii.  6.) 
It  is  in  this  way  that  "  we  come  'unto  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ  "  (Eph.  iv.  13), 
which  is  our  happy  destiny. 

This  doctrine  of  a  Divine  Humanity  presents  to  us 
the  one  personal  God,  permit  me  to  say,  in  the  most 
attractive  form  to  our  perceptions,  to  our  faith  and 
love.  It  is  almost  universally  admitted  that  God,  or 
the  essential  Divine  Nature,  cannot  be  known  and 
approached  out  of  Christ.  Thus,  an  invisible  God 
inaccessible  to  our  thought  and  love,  is  not  the  God 
of  Christianity,  but  the  God  of  the  Deist  and  the 
Pantheist.  But  Christianity  brings  us  acquainted 


52  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

with  a  God  "  who  is  not  far  off,"  but  close  at  hand, 
knocking  at  the  door  of  our  hearts  to  come  in  to  us 
and  to  bless  us.  (Kev.  iii.  20.)  And  He  who  thus 
stands  at  the  door  of  every  heart  is  the  u  Son  of  Man 
in  his  glory,"  or  Jesus  in  his  Divine  Humanity.  He 
is  consequently  omnipresent  in  his  Humanity,  or  He 
could  not  stand  at  the  entrance  to  every  heart ;  and 
as  He  declares  himself  to  be  present  "  wherever  two 
or  three  are  gathered  together  in  his  name  "  (Matt, 
xviii.  20),  hence  we  conclude  that  omnipresence  is 
an  essential  attribute  of  Him  in  his  Humanity  or 
u Glorious  Body." 

But  pardon  me,  if  in  all  charity  I  say  that  the 
Athanasian  dogma  of  Three  Persons  confuses  and 
darkens  this  truth,  and  renders  the  Deity,  as  is  con- 
fessed, an  impenetrable  mystery  to  our  most  devout 
and  spiritual  perceptions,  which  in  the  nature  of 
things  will  have  an  object  which  they  can  perceive 
and  love  ;  whereas,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  as 
being  three  divine  Essentials  in  one  Person,  answer- 
ing to  the  soul,  body  and  operation  in  one  man  the 
u  image  of  God,"  clears  up  this  mystery  to  our  faith, 
and  brings  the  one  personal  God  with  all  the  fulness 
of  Deity  close  to  our  hearts.  The  essential  Divinity 
which  is  the  Father,  the  Divine  Humanity  which 
is  the  Son,  and  the  Divine  Proceeding  which  is  the 
Holy  Spirit,  are,  "as  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead," 
concentrated  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  Lord 
said  that  what  He  had  stated  concerning  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  He  spake  in  proverbs.  (John  xvi.  25.) 
Now,  we  never  take  a  proverb  in  its  merely  literal 


JESUS  "THE  FORM   OF  GOD."  53 

sense,  but  we  look  to  an  ulterior  meaning  which  the 
proverb  implies. 

A  child,  I  am  aware,  when  reading  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  will  naturally  and  necessarily  form  a 
merely  literal  and  material  idea,  as  of  two  Persons. 
But  the  idea  of  our  childhood  is  not  to  be  the  idea 
of  our  rational  manhood.  "  When  I  was  a  child,'* 
says  the  Apostle,  "  I  thought  as  a  child,  and  I  un- 
derstood as  a  child  ;  but  when  I  became  a  man,  I  put 
away  childish  things."  What,  then,  does  the  prov- 
erb imply  ?  The  Lord  teaches  us  that  the  "  Father 
is  in  Him,"  that  "He  is  one  with  the  Father,"  and 
that  "whoso  seeth  Him  seeth  the  Father."  This 
relation  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  is  fliat  of  the  soul 
and  the  body.  Hereby  the  substance  of  the  one  and 
of  the  other  is  not  confounded,  but  considered  as 
distinctly  one.  Now,  the  Apostle  teaches  us  the 
same  fact  in  other  terms,  when  he  says  "that  the 
Son  is  the  brightness  of  his  [the  Father's]  glory,  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person."  (Heb.  i.  3.)  The 
Son  therefore  is,  in  relation  to  the  Father,  as  bright- 
ness to  glory. 

I  need  not  inform  you  and  your  intelligent  readers 
that  the  term  rendered  person  in  the  above  passage 
is,  in  Greek,  hupostasis,  which  means  substance  and 
not  person.  The  correct  idea,  then,  which  the  Greek 
conveys,  and  which,  I  believe,  is  not  disputed  by  the 
learned,  is  that  the  Son  is  the  express  image  of  the 
Father's  substance.  Here,  then,  the  Apostle  teaches 
us  the  same  fact  as  he  taught  the  Philippians,  that 
Jesus  is  the  "form  of  God,"  as  stated  in  my  last 
letter.  For  we  learn  not  only  that  the  Father  is  a 


54  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

substance,  but  that  the  Son  is  the  express  form  or 
image  of  that  substance.  This,  of  course,  is  pred- 
icated of  the  Son  in  his  state  of  glorification,  not  of 
the  Son  in  his  state  of  humiliation,  in  the  "  form  of 
a  servant."  We  have  already  said  that  to  draw  ar- 
guments against  the  Divinity  of  Christ  in  his  human- 
ity, from  what  He  said  of  himself  in  his  humiliation 
and  suffering,  as  the  Socinians  do,  is  most  erroneous. 
But,  as  we  now  all  look  to  Jesus  as  our  glorified  Sa- 
viour, we  ought  to  derive  our  arguments  from  what 
He  says  of  himself,  in  his  state  of  glorification,  as 
being  one  with  the  Father. 

But  there  is  a  beautiful  coherence  and  harmony 
between  docttines  which  proceed  from  a  fundamen- 
tal principle  which  is  true,  as  said  in  my  first  letter  ; 
and  we  shall  see  in  the  discussion  of  other  doctrines 
how  this  fundamental  truth,  that  Jehovah  assumed 
the  Humanity  in  the  person  of  Jesus  and  glorified  it 
or  made  it  divine,  so  as  to  dwell  in  it  as  his  own  Di- 
vine Personal  Form,  making  it  not  only  the  divine 
Medium  of  access  to  himself,  but  also  the  only  true 
Object  of  worship — how  this  fundamental  truth  can 
be  confirmed  and  illustrated .  It  will  be  clearly  shown 
that  Jesus  in  his  Glorious  Body  is,  according  to  the 
prediction,  "  the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Fa- 
ther and  the  Prince  of  Peace."  It  will  also  be  seen 
that  Jerusalem  is  u  builded  as  a  city  that  is  compact 
together." 

Redemption  is  a  subject  which  deeply  interests  the 
devout  and  thoughtful  mind.  The  first  question  to 
be  solved  in  arriving  at  a  correct  idea  on  this  sub- 
ject is  this—"  Wlw  is  the  Redeemer?  "  Unless  this, 
as  my  respected  opponent  will  admit,  is  correctly  an- 


JEHOVAH   THE  REDEEMER.  55 

swered,  the  whole  subject  will  remain  in  obscurity, 
and  the  mind  having  no  clear  ideas,  will  not  be  able 
to  think  on  this  important  point  of  Christian  theol- 
ogy with  any  degree  of  satisfaction.  The  common 
opinion  is,  that  the  supposed  Second  Person  in  the 
Trinity  became  the  Redeemer.  But  that  this  opin- 
ion, although  considered  as  orthodox,  is  not  founded 
on  Scripture,  we  now  proceed  to  demonstrate.  It  is 
uniformly  asserted  in  the  Word  of  God,  that  Jehovah 
himself  is  the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  his  people. 
The  reader  will  have  the  kindness  to  observe  that 
wherever  the  term  LORD,  printed  in  capitals,  occurs 
in  the  Scripture,  it  is  in  almost  all  cases  Jehovah  in 
the  Hebrew,— a  fact  which  must  not  be  overlooked, 
because,  without  knowing  it,  the  reader  of  the  Scrip- 
tures cannot  so  well  identify  the  great  Jehovah  with 
the  Redeemer  of  mankind.  Let  the  following  pas- 
sages, not  to  mention  numerous  others  which  might 
be  adduced,  prove  the  truth  of  this  declaration  :— 

"I  am  Jelwvah,  and  beside  me  there  is  no  Saviour. " 
(Isaiah  xliii.  11.)  "  All  flesh  shall  know  that  I,  Je- 
hovali,  am  thy  Saviour  and  thy  Redeemer.'1  (xlix. 
26;  Ix.  10.)  "  Their  Redeemer  is  strong,  Jehovah 
of  Hosts  is  his  name."  (Jer.  i.  34.)  Such  passages 
as  these  are  extremely  numerous  ;  we  will,  however, 
only  adduce  one  more,  which  is  conclusive : — "  I  am 
Jehovah,  thy  God ;  thou  shalt  know  no  God  but  me, 
for  there  is  no  Saviour  besides  me."  (Hos.  xiii.  4.) 

From  these  and  many  other  passages,  it  must  be 
evident  that  Jehovah  God,  who  is  one,  descended  as 
the  Word,  or  Logos,  or  as  the  Divine  Truth  itself, 
and  was  "  made  flesh  "  (John  i.  1, 14),  for  the  purpose 
of  redemption.  Most  true  then  it  was  that  "God 


56  THE   NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

was  in  Christ,"  etc.,  that  "  God  was  manifest  in  the 
flesh."  John  the  Baptist  declared,  when  he  was 
demanded  of  the  Pharisees  who  he  was,  that  he  was 
u  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  Jehovah,  make  his  paths  straight ; .  .  . 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God."  (Luke 
iii.  4,  6,  compared  with  Isaiah  xl.  3,  5.)  Thus,  to 
see  that  Jehovah  is  the  Redeemer  and  Saviour,  and 
that  He  appeared  in  the  person  of  Jesus,  is  the  fun- 
damental truth  of  redemption  and  salvation.  To 
suppose,  as  the  common  theology  does,  that  the  Re- 
deemer was  some  other  person  than  Jehovah  him- 
self, is  quite  opposed  to  the  testimony  of  Scripture, 
and  specifically  to  the  divine  declaration,  that  uthe 
testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy." 

That  redemption  was  a  necessary  work,  is  admit- 
ted on  all  hands.  For  both  Scripture  and  history 
give  us  fearful  accounts  of  the  fallen  and  corrupt 
state  of  the  human  race  at  the  time  "  God  was  man- 
ifest in  the  flesh."  (See  especially  Rom.  i.  29-32.) 
Our  own  experience  also,  if  we  know  our  own  hearts, 
testifies  most  amply  to  its  necessity. 

But  redemption  means  deliverance  from  the  powers 
of  darkness  and  of  hell.  Thus,  Zacharias,  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  said,  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  for  He  hath  visited  and  redeemed  his  people, 
that  we  should  be  saved  from  our  enemies,  and  from 
the  hand  of  all  that  hate  us. "  (Luke  i.  68, 71. )  Here 
it  is  expressly  declared  that  it  was  u  JEHOVAH  the 
God  of  Israel  who  redeemed  his  people,"  etc.  How 
erroneous,  then,  it  is  to  imagine  that  it  was  a  second 
Person,  and  not  Jehovah  the  Father  Himself,  who 
came  to  redeem  us ! 


SPIRITUAL  DELIVERANCE.  57 

The  deliverance  of  Israel  from  Egypt  is  a  perfect 
type  of  redemption.  At  the  time  the  Lord  came 
into  the  world,  "  unclean  spirits  and  devils,"  as  we 
read  in  the  Gospels,  were  taking  possession  of  the 
human  race.  These  were,  and  are  still,  the  enemies 
from  which  we  are  delivered  by  our  Saviour  God. 
If  redemption  had  not  been  accomplished,  uno  flesh 
could  have  been  saved."  But  the  medium  by  which 
this  was  accomplished  was  the  flesh  or  humanity 
which  Jehovah  assumed  for  the  purpose.  The  life 
of  this  humanity  He  "laid  down  as  a  ransom  for 
many"  (Matt.  xx.  28);  He  u poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death,"  etc.,  in  order  that  we  might  be  deliv- 
ered and  saved.  He  first  "abolished  the  enmity  in 
his  own  flesh"  (Eph.  ii.  15,  16),  or  humanity  which 
He  assumed,  and  so  prepared  the  way  and  the  means 
of  abolishing  the  enmity  between  God  and  man  in 
all  others,  if  we  look  to  Him  and  "obey  Him  as  the 
author  of  our  salvation."  (Heb.  v.  0.) 

But  I  am  again  reminded  that  my  space  forbids 
me  to  enlarge.  In  other  letters,  therefore,  I  shall 
pursue  this  subject  by  explaining  the  New  Church 
doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  which  will  be  found  per- 
fectly consistent  with  the  idea  of  One  Person  in  the 
Godhead,  u  who  in  his  love  and  pity  hath  redeemed 
us."  In  discussing  this  subject  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
come  more  directly  under  consideration,  when  I  hope 
to  answer  my  opponent's  objections  against  the  idea 
of  its  not  being  a  Person,  but  an  operative  Power 
from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  expressly  declared 
that  He  "himself  would  (after  his  glorification)  send 
the  Comforter,  even  the  Spirit  of  Truth, ' '  etc.  (John 
xv.  26.)  A.  Y. 


LETTER  IV. 
A    TRUE  IDEA    OF  GOD— ITS  IMPORTANCE. 

:— I  have  perused  the  last  letter  of  my 
friendly  opponent  with  great  interest  and 
attention.  He  is  not  willing  to  admit  that 
we  of  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  think  more 
highly  of  Jesus  Christ  than  himself,  and  those  who 
think  with  him.  He  objects  to  new  ideas  of  Jesus, 
but  admits  "  that  we  want  fuller,  brighter,  clearer, 
and  more  enrapturing  views ' '  concerning  Him.  This 
is  all  that  is  intended  by  new  ideas.  These  "  fuller, 
brighter,  clearer  and  more  enrapturing  views,"  I 
am  persuaded  are  to  be  found,  as  opened  from  the 
Scriptures,  in  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church  ;  and 
on  this  account  chiefly  we  engage  in  this  discussion. 

My  friend  alludes  "to  a  poor  dying  woman,  in 
confirmation  of  his  creed."  I  will  only  say  that  a 
death-bed  confession,  like  a  death-bed  repentance, 
is  rarely  genuine.  It  is  the  confession  which  we 
make  in  our  daily  life,  by  so  letting  "  our  light  shine 
before  men,  that  they  may  see  our  good  works  and 
glorify  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven," — it  is  this  con- 
fession which  chiefly  proves  our  belief  in  the  Lord. 
Many  Roman  Catholics,  Mussulmen,  and  Hindoos, 
have  endured  torture  in  confessing  their  religious 
dogmas  ;  but  were  they  true  for  all  that  ? 

There  is,  however,  a  great  diiference  between  us, 

58 


THE   TRUE  IDEA    OF   GOD.  59 

as  there  must  be  between  those  who  think  only  of 
one  Person  "  in  whom  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
dwells  bodily,"  and  those  who  think  of  three  Persons, 
of  whom  each,  as  the  creed  says,  "  is  by  himself  God 
and  Lord."  The  true  idea  of  God,  as  the  Fountain 
of  life  and  the  Object  of  worship,  is,  as  said  in  our 
first  letter,  the  basis  of  Christianity,  and  the  start- 
ing-point of  all  true  doctrine.  One  great  object  in 
this  discussion  is,  to  induce  your  numerous  readers 
to  reflect  upon  this  fundamental  idea,  and  to  inquire 
into  its  truth  and  its  saving  efficacy.  To  think  too 
highly,  too  divinely,  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  u  the 
Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith,"  is  impossible. 
For  "without  Him  was  not  anything  made  that  was 
made  ;  "  by  Him  were  all  things  created  that  are  in 
heaven  and  on  earth,  etc.  "  All  things  were  created 
by  Him  and  for  Him,  and  by  Him  all  things  con- 
sist." (Col.  i.  1G,  17.)  1  am  aware  that  all  this  is 
not  denied  by  my  friendly  opponent ;  but  the  specific 
difference  between  us  is,  that  my  opponent  thinks 
that  all  this  is  said  of  the  Lord  as  to  his  Din/?//// 
and  not  as  to  his  Humanity  at  the  same  time,  thus 
separating  his  divinity  from  his  Humanity.  But  we 
believe  that  this  is  said  of  his  Humanity  also,  which, 
containing  within  it  "all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head," is  necessarily  Divine.  Thus  we  do  not  be- 
lieve that  the  Divinity  of  the  Father  is  one  thing, 
and  the  Divinity  of  the  Son  another  thing  ;  for  this 
would  certainly  be  two  Divinities,  or  two  Gods. 
The  Gospel,  it  is  certain,  does  not  teach  this  ;  but 
the  Gospel  teaches  us  "that  the  Father  is  in  the 
Son,"  or  "that  God  was  in  Christ  ;  "  "God  mani- 


60  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

fest  in  the  flesh,"  etc.  ;  that  Jesus  was  "Emmanuel 
— God  with  us  ;  "  or  "  that  the  Word  which  became 
flesh,  was  God."  Thus  the  Divinity  of  the  Father 
was  the  only  Divinity  of  the  Son — u  I  and  the  Fa- 
ther are  One."  Consequently  there  is  one  Divinity 
only,  and  not  two  ;  and  this  one  Divinity  can  only 
be  known,  thought  of,  approached,  and  worshipped 
in  the  Lord,  for  "  no  man  hath  at  any  time  seen  the 
Father's  shape,  or  heard  his  voice  "  (John  v.  37), 
which  evidently  implies  that  no  man  can  form  any 
idea  of  the  Father  out  of  the  Son,  nor  have  any  ac- 
cess to  Him  but  by  the  Son,  as  the  Lord  plainly  de- 
clares—'4 3sTo  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  me." 

Hence  we  see  the  error  of  those  who  worship  the 
Father  as  a  being  out  of  the  Son,  and  as  a  distinct 
Person  from  the  Son.  The  relation,  therefore,  be- 
tween the  Father  and  the  Son  is  not  that  of  two  in- 
finite and  unanimous  Persons,  for  this  again  would 
be  equal  to  two  Gods ;  but  the  relation  is  that  of 
soul  and  body,  or,  as  the  Apostle  defines  it,  "  of 
image  or  form  to  substance,"  of  "brightness  to 
glory ; "  in  which  figure  glory  is  considered  as  the 
substance,  and  brightness  the  form.  (Heb.  i.  2,  3.) 

It  is,  as  my  opponent  well  knows,  irrational  to 
suppose  that  there  can  be  a  substance  without  a 
form  :  the  one  implies  the  other.  But  as  my  friend 
truly  says,  u  this  substance,  or  hypostasis,  which  the 
Father  is  declared  to  be  (Heb.  i.),  is  not  material." 
Truly — and  this  shows  us  that  there  are  other  sub- 
stances besides  those  which  are  material  or  obvious 
to  our  senses.  Thus  the  spiritual  world  consists  of 
spiritual  substances,  as  the  natural  world  of  material 


GOD  A   DIVINE  SUBSTANCE.  61 

substances.  The  body  of  angels  and  spirits  is  not 
material  but  spiritual.  "There  are,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "  celestial  bodies  and  terrestrial  bodies  ;  and 
the  glory  of  the  celestial  is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the 
terrestrial  is  another."  (1  Cor.  xv.  40.)  And  as 
the  Apostle,  as  well  as  the  Athanasian  Creed  re- 
ceived as  orthodox,  declares  that  the  Father  is  a 
substance,  this  must  consequently  be  a  Divine  sub- 
stance which  is  infinitely  exalted  above  the  laws  of 
material  substance  ;  consequently  by  no  means  sub- 
ject to  gravitation,  locomotion,  space  or  time,  but 
is  everywhere  present  and  operative  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  universe  and  for  the  salvation  of  men. 
I  am  aware  that  the  difficulty  which  my  respected 
opponent  feels  in  thinking  of  the  Divine  Humanity 
is,  that  he  thinks  of  it  from  matter  and  space.  But 
by  elevating  his  thought  above  the  low  conditions 
which  belong  solely  to  our  material  being,  he  will 
have  no  more  difficulty  in  thinking  of  the  omnipres- 
ence of  the  Lord  in  his  Divine  Humanity,  than  he 
will  in  thinking  of  God  as  a  Divine  substance  or 
hypostasis  being  everywhere  present.  Every  Chris- 
tian, especially  in  prayer  and  worship,  thinks  of  God 
as  omnipresent,  and  that  He  hears  his  petitions. 
But  the  Father,  as  already  said,  can  have  no  access 
to  us  but  in  the  Son,  no  more  than  we  can  come  to 
the  Father  but  by  the  Son  (Matt.  xi.  27)  ;  conse- 
quently the  Father  cannot  hear  our  prayers  or  ac- 
cept our  worship  but  through  the  Son,  any  more 
than  a  man's  mind  can  hear  and  understand  the 
thought  and  conversation  of  another  but  by  means 
of  his  body  ;  or  than  a  man  can  have  access  to  the 
6 


62  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

mind  of  his  friend  but  through  the  medium  of  his 
body.  Viewing  the  subject,  therefore,  which  way 
you  will— admitting,  as  the  Gospel  teaches,  that  the 
u  Father  is  in  the  Son."  Jesus  in  his  risen  or  glorious 
Body  is  Divine,  and  this  especially  when  we  consider 
that  in  this  "glorious  Body"  He  is  able,  as  the 
Apostle  says,  "to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself." 
(Phil.  iii.  21.)  For  what  but  a  Divine  Body  or  Hu- 
manity can  subdue  all  things  unto  himself?  Can 
this  be  said  of  any  mere  body  or  humanity  such  as 
a  man  has,  or  of  any  merely  spiritual  body,  such  as 
an  angel  has  ?  Do  we  not  see  that  such  a  thing  as 
"subduing  all  things  unto  himself,"  can  only  be 
predicated  of  a  Divine  Body  ?  Again,  then,  we  con- 
elude  that  the  Humanity  of  Jesus  is  Divine. 

It  is  the  merest  sensuous  fallacy  to  suppose  that 
that  only  is  substance  which  is  material,  obvious  to 
our  bodily  senses.  Spirit  is.  in  a  truer  sense,  more 
substantial  than  matter,  as  the  spirit  or  mind  which  is 
in  a  man  is  more  substantial  than  the  body  of  matter 
which  it  actuates.  For  in  true  thinking  it  must  be 
admitted  that  that  which  actuates  is  more  substantial 
than  that  which  is  actuated.  A  cause  which  gives 
birth  to  an  effect  is  more  substantial  than  the  effect 
itself.  Admit  the  substantiality  of  the  latter,  and 
a  fortiori  you  must  admit  the  substantiality  of  the 
former.  Is  it  in  agreement  with  sound  intelligence 
to  deny  to  the  cause  substantiality,  because  we  can- 
not see  it  and  handle  it,  and  yet  ascribe  substantial- 
ity to  the  effect  which  we  can  see  and  handle  ?  It  is 
admitted  in  sound  logic  that  that  which  is  prior  is 
more  substantial  than  that  which  is  posterior ;  and 


HEAVENLY   THINGS  SUBSTANTIAL.          63 

as  God  is  not  only  the  Prior,  but  the  Primus,  He  is 
the  most  Substantial  of  all  things,  from  whom  indeed 
all  things  derive  their  substantiality.  Thus  all  things 
in  the  heavens,  of  which  things  on  the  earth  are  only 
types  and  shadows,  are,  as  the  causes  under  God  of 
earthly  things,  more  substantial  in  their  nature,  as 
being  nearer  God  than  earthly  things  can  possibly 
be.  For  is  not  that  which  a  type  signifies  or  repre- 
sents, more  substantial  than  the  type  which  signifies 
it,  or  which  merely  shadows  it  forth  in  a  lower  sphere 
of  existence  ? 

But  to  adhere  closely  to  my  first  postulate,  that 
all  our  reasonings  and  deductions  in  this  discussion 
"  shall  be  confirmed  by  Scripture,"  I  will  merely  ask 
my  opponent  whether  the  u  heavenly  things  "accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  of  which  the  tabernacle  and  all 
things  belonging  to  it  were  made,  which  Moses  saw 
by  Divine  direction  in  spirit  on  the  mount  (Exod. 
xxv.  9 ;  Heb.  viii.  5),  were  not  more  substantial  than 
the  "shadows"  or  types  which  he  constructed  or 
formed  (Exodus  xxv.)  of  the  heavenly  things  them- 
selves ?  But  these  "  heavenly  things  "  were  purely 
spiritual,  and  by  no  means  natural.  Now  this 
plainly  shows  us  that  there  are  spiritual  substances 
as  well  as  material,  which,  as  said  above,  are  not 
subject  to  the  laws  of  matter,  of  gravitation,  weight, 
measure,  either  by  miles,  yards,  feet  or  inches,  or  of 
space  and  time ;  but  that  these  spiritual  substances 
are  subject  to  their  own  laws  peculiar  to  their  own 
nature.  It  is  true  that  in  describing  the  dimensions 
of  the  tabernacle  and  of  the  curtains,  earthly  meas- 
urements are  employed  ;  but  these  measurements  are 


64  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

only  applicable  to  the  types  upon  earth,  and  not  to 
the  "  heavenly  things  "  there  typified  or  represented. 
Things  purely  true  and  good,  and  their  states  and 
qualities,  are  thereby  signified,  which,  as  the  Apostle 
says,  are  *'  spiritually  discerned  "  (1  Cor.  ii.  14),  thus 
not  with  a  gross  material  idea,  which  is  incapable  of 
comprehending  the  true  nature  of  heavenly  things, 
but  with  an  immaterial  or  spiritual  idea,  which,  as 
my  opponent  admits,  is  the  true  idea  with  which 
spiritual  things  should  be  apprehended. 

But  as  every  substance  must  have  a  form  before 
it  can  exist  as  a  substance,  so  spiritual  substances 
must  have  spiritual  forms.  These  forms,  like  their 
substances,  are  very  different  from  natural  forms  in 
everything  but  appearance,  and  subject  to  different 
laws.  Thus  the  spirit  of  a  man  which  lives  after 
death  is  a  spiritual  substance,  and  its  form  is  also 
spiritual,  called  by  the  Apostle  ua  spiritual  body." 
Of  this  body  we  cannot  predicate  material  proper- 
ties, such  as  bulk,  weight,  height,  etc.;  although  the 
spiritual  body  appears  to  have  these  properties,  yet 
we  cannot  in  a  material  sense  predicate  them  of  its 
substance  and  form;  nevertheless  they  have,  accord- 
ing to  correspondence,  a  signification  which  implies 
the  qualities  of  the  spiritual  substances  thus  desig- 
nated by  properties  taken  from  natural  objects.  Thus 
in  the  Scriptures  we  read  of  a  mind  high,  lowly,  ex- 
alted, abased,  downcast,  etc.,  but  we  do  not  take  these 
expressions  in  their  material  sense,  but  in  a  sense  as 
applicable  to  mind,  different  from  that  which  is 
applicable  to  matter.  This  we  do  without  special 
instruction,  by  a  kind  of  instinctive  perception  of 


NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL   IDEAS.  65 

the  fact.  When  also  we  say  that  a  man  has  a 
sour  or  crabbed  mind,  we  do  not  in  a  material  sense 
mean  that  his  mind  is  sour  or  like  a  crab,  but  we 
moan  that  the  quality  of  a  crab,  which  is  sourness, 
corresponds  to  his  mental  state,  and  designates  it. 
Now  the  Scriptures  are  full  of  these  expressions, 
taken  from  natural  objects,  to  denote  by  analogy  or 
correspondence  spiritual  qualities,  or  the  qualities 
of  spiritual  substance.  The  spiritual  things  seen 
by  the  prophets,  as  recorded  in  Scripture,  were  to 
them  as  substantial  and  as  real  as  natural  objects 
seen  by  men. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of  ideas. 
The  idea  which  we  form  of  a  thing  is  either  natural 
or  spiritual.  If  it  is  natural  it  will  be  characterized 
by  the  properties  and  laws  of  matter,  that  is,  it  will 
have  to  do  with  size,  bulk,  weight,  number,  etc.,  and 
also  with  space  and  time.  But  if  it  is  spiritual  it 
will  not  have  to  do  with  these  properties  of  matter. 
Thus,  when  we  think  of  holiness,  innocence,  wisdom, 
intelligence,  faith,  love,  etc.,  we  do  not  think  of  these 
things  as  connected  with  matter,  and  its  bulk, weight, 
etc.,  nor  as  associated  with  any  particular  man,  al- 
though it  is  most  true  that  they  cannot  exist  but  in 
a  subject  who  is  an  angel  or  a  man,  and  supremely 
and  infinitely  in  God  as  the  subject  from  whom  they 
come. 

Permit  me  here  to  add,  in  confirmation  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Divine  Humanity,  that  all  these  prop- 
erties are  ascribed  to  Jesus  Christ  in  his  Humanity. 
Thus  in  his  Humanity  He  is  said  to  be  "  the  Author 
and  Finisher  of  our  faith  "  (Heb.  xii.  2).  In  Him, 
6*  E 


66  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

understood  as  to  his  "Glorious  Body"  or  Divine 
Humanity,  "are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge  "  (Col.  ii.  3).  Again,  He  is  said  to  be  the 
only  Holy  One — u  For  thou  only  art  holy  "  (Rev.  xv. 
4).  All  these  things  are  said  of  Jesus  in  his  Hu- 
manity. But  how  can  all  these  infinite  perfections 
be  said  of  Him  in  his  Humanity,  unless  it  is  Divine  ? 
For  these  things  can  only  be  predicated  of  Him  who 
is  infinite  and  Divine.  But  if  we  can  have  an  idea 
of  the  form  of  holiness,  love,  etc.,  as  abstracted  from 
matter  and  its  laws,  so  we  can  have  an  idea  of  the 
"form  of  God  "  as  totally  abstracted  from  materi- 
ality and  its  limitations.  Thus  we  can  think  of  God 
in  Christ,  or  of  God  in  a  Divine  Humanity,  without 
the  material  ideas  of  size,  bulk,  extension,  weight, 
etc.,  and  thus  think  of  Him  as  "the  Author  and 
Finisher  of  our  faith,"  and  as  being  omnipresent, 
and  all-powerful  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  Hence  it 
is,  as  all  systems  of  logic  admit,  that  our  higher  or 
immaterial  ideas  are  not  necessarily  connected  with 
matter  ;  and  for  this  reason,  indeed,  they  are  called 
immaterial.  Even  the  idea  which  an  architect  has 
of  a  building  he  is  about  to  erect,  is  considered  by 
him  in  the  first  place  as  abstracted  from  the  laws 
and  dimensions  of  materiality.  His  idea  begins  to 
partake  of  these  material  properties  when  he  begins 
to  plan  it  out  on  paper,  and  still  more  when  he  be- 
gins to  construct  the  building  itself.  But  in  the  first 
instance  it  exists  irrespective  of  these  material  con- 
ditions. Nevertheless  it  is  not  a  mere  abstraction, 
but  a  substantial  power,  which,  as  it  puts  itself  forth, 


TRINAL   DISTINCTION  IN  GOD.  67 

gives  rise  to  the  building,  which  without  the  idea  could 
never  exist. 

Our  ideas,  then,  as  the  essential  elements  of  all 
our  thinking  and  doing,  are  wonderful  things.  Is 
it  possible  that  God  could  give  us  the  power  to 
form  an  idea  of  everything  within  the  range  of  our 
thought,  and  not  of  Himself?  By  no  means.  He 
also  gives  us  the  power,  by  virtue  of  our  rational 
mind,  to  form  an  idea  of  Himself,  not  as  a  meta- 
physical abstraction,  which  is  no  God,  but  of  Him- 
self as  presented  to  our  minds  in  the  Person  or  Di- 
vine Humanity  of  Christ. 

But  my  friend  will  excuse  me  if  I  dwell,  for  the 
last  time  in  this  discussion,  yet  a  moment  or  two, 
on  this  vital  point.  My  opponent  says, — 

"How  can  the  passages  in  proof  of  the  Divine 
Humanity,  adduced  in  former  letters,  teach  Identity 
when  they  perpetually  distinguish  ?  " 

I  thought  it  was  plainly  shown  that  the  said  pas- 
sages teach  clearly  a  distinction,  and  not  an  identity 
in  the  Trinity,  and  by  no  means  confound  the  es- 
sentials denoted  by  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 
which  constitute  it, — the  distinction  being  that  of 
soul,  body,  and  operation  in  one  man  created  u  in 
the  image  of  God."  Here  is  no  confusion,  but  a 
clear  distinction,  yet  a  perfect  one — Trinity  in 
Unity. 

My  respected  opponent  says,  with  a  note  of  ex- 
clamation,— 

"  Yet  this  doctrine  of  the  Humanity  which  makes 
man  God  and  God  man,  is  essential  to  the  well-being 
of  Christianity  !  » 


68  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

This,  if  I  mistake  not,  is  not  only  doubted,  but 
repudiated.  Let  me,  then,  employ  his  own  weapons 
of  orthodoxy  in  proof  of  this.  The  Athanasian 
Creed  (the  bulwark  of  orthodoxy)  says — 

u  For  as  the  rational  soul  and  body  are  one  man, 
so  God  and  man  is  one  Christ.  One,  not  by  the  con- 
version of  the  divine  essence  into  the  human,  but 
by  the  assumption  of  the  human  essence  into  the 
divine." 

Here  even  orthodoxy  teaches  the  truth  for  which 
we  contend,  namely;' that  in  Christ  God  is  man  and 
man  is  God,  u  not  by  the  conversion  of  the  divine 
essence  into  the  human,  or  of  the  divinity  into  body, 
but  by  the  assumption  of  the  human  essence  into 
the  divine,  or  into  God."  If  this  creed  taught  only 
one  Person  in  whom  is  the  Trinity,  instead  of  three 
Persons,  it  would  come  pretty  near  to  the  truth. 
But  the  idea  of  three  Persons,  "  each  by  himself  be- 
ing God  and  Lord,"  destroys  the  truth  of  the  above 
extract,  that  "in  Christ  God  is  man  and  man  is 
God,"  and  thus,  although  belonging  to  orthodoxy, 
my  opponent  looks  upon  it  with  astonishment  as 
being  a  strange  doctrine.  For  the  above  extract 
teaches  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Humanity,  or 
that  in  Christ  God  is  Man  ;  for  how  can  God  in 
Christ  be  Man,  except  the  Manhood  or  Humanity 
of  Christ  is  Divine  ?  Impossible. 

In  thus  deriving  a  proof  from  orthodoxy  itself,  we 
are  not  departing  from  our  first  postulate,  which  re- 
quires that  everything  be  drawn  from  the  Word  of 
God,  and  confirmed  thereby.  For  that  this  truth  is 
abundantly  declared  in  the  Scriptures,  is  evident 


CHRIST  HA$  "  LIFE   IN  HIMSELF."  69 

when  we  consider  that  "  all  things  which  the  Father 
hath  are  his ;  "  for  how  can  the  infinite  things  of  the 
Father  belong  to  a  Person  who  is  not  infinite  and 
Divine  ?  consequently  the  Humanity  to  which  all 
these  infinite  things  belong  is  Divine.  Again:  "As 
the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so  hath  He  given  to 
the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself. ' '  Now  my  opponent 
will  admit  that  "to  have  life  in  himself"  is  the  ex- 
clusive prerogative  of  Deity.  Since  there  is  but  one 
fountain  of  Life,  which  is  God,  all  other  beings  re- 
ceive life  from  Him.  Jesus,  moreover,  declares  him- 
self to  be  the  Life.  But  how  can  Jesus  "  have  life 
in  himself,"  and  dispense  it  to  all  others,  except  his 
Humanity  be  Divine  ? 

My  opponent  objects  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
passage—"  He  being  in  the  form  of  God,"  etc.  (Phil. 
ii.  6),  as  conveying  the  idea  that  Christ  in  himself, 
"as  coming  forth  from  the  Father,"  was  in  the 
"form  of  God;"  intimating  that  He  was  in  this 
form  prior  to  the  incarnation,  and  not  during  his 
incarnation,  or  when  in  the  world  ;  and  that  conse- 
quently the  interpretation  which  was  given  in  my 
former  letter,  and  which,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  is 
evidently  involved  in  the  text,  "  falls  headlong  like 
Dagon  before  the  ark  to  the  ground."  That  prior 
to  the  incarnation  He  was  in  "the  form  of  God," 
there  can  be  no  doubt  ;  for  He  says,  "  Before  Abra- 
ham was  I  am,"  thus  declaring  his  pre-existence. 
But  that  this  "  form  of  God  "  in  highest  or  inmost 
principles,  clothed  itself  by  incarnation  with  the 
"  form  of  a  servant,  in  which  He  humbled  himself," 
etc.,  is  clear  from  a  proper  view  of  the  text.  For 


70  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

my  opponent,  on  referring  to  the  Greek,  will  admit 
that  huparclwn,  "being,"  as  correctly  given  in  the 
common  version,  is  the  present  participle,  and  not 
the  past,  having  been.  In  confirmation,  see  Luke  xi. 
13 — "If  ye,  being  (huparchontes)  evil,"  etc.  I  am 
aware  that  the  gloss  of  Suidas  would  interpret  /m- 
parchon  by  proeinai,  "  to  exist  before  ;  "  but  this  he 
was  not  warranted  in  doing,  and  his  interpretation 
is  rejected  by  most  of  the  learned/*  This  passage 
clearly  teaches,  as  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church 
affirm,  that  the  Lord  had  a  Humanity  (a  form)  from 
the  Father,  and  also  a  humanity  (the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant) from  the  mother ;  and  that  his  glorification 
consisted  in  putting  off  the  latter  and  putting  on 
the  former,  which  He  did  by  degrees  during  his  life 
in  the  world,  and  finally  by  his  death  and  resurrec- 
tion in  all  fulness,  even  to  the  very  "flesh  and  bones. ' ' 
(Luke  xxiv.  39.)  For  that  the  Lord  glorified  his 
humanity  by  degrees,  is  plainly  declared  in  John 
xii.  28.  This  divine  Form,  or  Humanity,  as  far  as 
it  was  glorified,  He  was  pleased  to  show  to  his  dis- 
ciples at  the  transfiguration,  when  "  His  face  shone 
as  the  sun,  and  his  garments  were  white  as  the 
light." 

It  must,  however,  be  distinctly  understood  that 
although  Jesus  was  not  fully  glorified,  or  did  not 
fully  put  on  the  Divine  Humanity  from  the  Father 
until  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection,  yet  when  "  He 
manifested  himself  unto  Israel  and  began  to  preach, 
being  about  thirty  years  of  age  "  (Luke  iii.  23),  every- 

*  See  Trollope's  "Analecta  Theologica,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  496. 


GOD    VISIBLE  IN  CHRIST.  71 

thing  which  He  said  and  did  as  recorded  in  the  Gos- 
pels, was  from  Him inhis  Divine  Person  or  Humanity, 
although  still  clothed  until  the  crucifixion  externally, 
before  the  eyes  of  men,  with  the  u  form  of  a  servant," 
or  with  the  humanity  from  the  mother,  in  which  He 
was  "  in  all  things  like  unto  his  brethren  "  (Ileb.  ii. 
17). 

This  remark  meets  my  opponent's  statement,  in 
objecting  to  a  visible  God,  when  he  says,— 

"Such  passages  as  John  xiv.  7-9,  'He  that  hath 
seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father,'  etc.,  cannot  weaken 
my  position,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified,  and 
therefore  not  yet  God  in  that  which  was  visible." 

But  this  statement  implies  that  my  friend  has  a 
perception,  which  is  very  true,  that  God,  after  Jesus 
was  glorified,  was  visible  in  Him,  or  that  Jesus  is 
the  visible  God  in  whom  is  the  invisible.  And  this 
is  what  we  mean  when  we  say  that  Christianity,  in 
opposition  to  the  Deist  and  the  Pantheist,  has  a 
Personal  and  a  visible  God,  that  is,  a  God  visible  to 
our  perception,  to  our  faith  and  love,  a  God  whom 
the  mind  can  approach  and  love,  which  is  impossible 
with  an  impersonal  abstraction  called  God  invisible, 
or  imperceptible  to  our  thought.  One  great  object, 
indeed,  which  God  had  in  being  "  manifest  in  the 
flesh,"  and  in  glorifying  or  making  divine  the  hu- 
manity He  assumed,  was  to  render  Himself  visible 
and  fully  accessible  to  the  minds  of  his  intelligent 
creatures. 

But  my  opponent  appears  to  hold  in  aversion  the 
idea  of  a  visible  God,  and  he  says, — 


72  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

"Paul  and  Peter  and  John  had  seen  Jesus  after 
his  resurrection,  yet  they  say  that  they  had  not  seen 
and  could  not  see  God." 

But  my  friend  forgets  that  Thomas,  when  he  saw 
Jesus  after  his  resurrection,  addressed  Him  by  say- 
ing, "  My  Lord  and  my  God  "  (John  xx.  28).  Here 
Thomas  addresses  Jesus  in  his  glorified  Humanity, 
and  calls  Him  his  God.  Surely  nothing  can  be  more 
conclusive  as  to  the  Divinity  of  his  Humanity.  John 
also,  after  the  resurrection,  calls  Jesus  uthe  true 
God  and  eternal  life  "  (1  Eph.  v.  20) ;  and  in  the 
Apocalypse  he  calls  Him  the  "First  and  the  Last, 
the  Beginning  and  the  End,  the  Almighty."  All 
this  is  said  of  Him  as  of  the  "Son  of  Man  in  his 
glory,"  that  is,  of  Him  in  his  Divine  Humanity. 
Paul  also  calls  Him,  after  his  resurrection,  and  after 
he  had  seen  Jesus  as  recorded  in  the  Acts,  "  God  over 
all,  blessed  forever  "  (Bom.  ix.  5).  Surely  my  oppo- 
nent must  himself  "  have  visited  the  frigid  zone  of 
Socinianism,"  to  find  arguments  against  the  Divinity 
of  Jesus  in  his  Humanity. 

It  is  asked,  "Where  is  it  taught  in  the  churches 
of  Christ  that  God  is  inaccessible  to  our  faith  and 
love  ?  "  Let  me  direct  attention  to  the  first  of  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  and 
from  what  is  there  said,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  form  any  idea  or  conception  of  God  ;  and 
the  mind  cannot  in  the  nature  of  things  approach 
to  that  of  which  it  can  form  no  idea. 

We  have  not  misrepresented  the  documents  of 
orthodoxy,  but  if  my  opponent's  ideas  are  not  con- 


THE  BETTER  EXPOSITION.  73 

sonant  with  orthodoxy,  let  him  renounce  it.  He  can 
find  a  much  better  exposition  of  God's  Word  and  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity  in  the  New-Church  The- 
olog}'  than  in  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  or  the  West- 
minster Catechism.  For  the  mind  can  form  an  idea 
of  the  one  personal  God,,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
of  the  Trinity  as  centred  in  Him,  and  thus  become 
conjoined  to  Him  by  faith  and  love. 

I  had  intended  to  broach  quite  a  new  subject  for 
discussion,  but  I  find  that  my  space  forbids.  In  my 
next,  therefore,  I  will  enter  upon  some  other  topics 
which  are  of  great  importance  to  a  correct  idea  of 
Christianity.  In  the  meantime,  thanking  you,  Mr. 
Editor,  for  your  Christian  kindness  and  courtesy, 
I  am  yours,  etc., 

A.y. 

7 


LETTER  Y. 

CHURCH   COUNCILS;    DIVINITY  AND  HUMAN- 
ITY;   A   TRUE  PSYCHOLOGY  NEEDED. 

•x,^ 

j£)  IB : — In  your  editorial  remarks  of  the  15th 
y  of  last  month,  I  am  glad  to  find  you  approve 
of  the  spirit  in  which  this  discussion  is  con- 
ducted. Indeed,  why  should  it  be  otherwise  than 
truly  Christian  ?  Why  should  the  truth  be  spoken 
from  any  other  principle  than  that  of  love  ?  The 
essential  life  and  spirit  of  the  Church  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  is,  "  the  love  of  the  Lord  above  all  things, 
and  of  our  neighbor  as  ourselves."  And  this  is  the 
truly  Christian  life  and  spirit  u  upon  which  all  the 
law  and  the  prophets  hang,"  that  is,  which  they 
universally  teach.  I  am  also  happy  to  see  that 
much  interest  has  been  manifested  in  this  discus- 
sion, and  that  there  has,  in  consequence,  been  a 
great  demand  for  your  excellent  paper.* 

*  In  the  number  of  the  Christian  Weeldy  News  for  April  15th 
the  Editor,  in  one  of  his  leading  articles,  entitled  "The  Contro- 
versy on  Swedenborcjianism"  says, — "  The  discussion  in  these 
pages  between  'A.  V.'  and  '  C.  B.'  is  attracting,  as  we  antici- 
pated, much  attention.  Hitherto  the  combatants  have  main- 
tained a  noble  spirit,  and  conformed  strictly  to  the  rules  laid 
down  for  their  guidance.  Whilst  we  intentionally  refrain,  at 
this  stage  of  the  business,  from  saying  anything  either  for  or 
against  the  views  propounded  by  the  respective  writers,  we  can- 
not but  point  to  the  spirit  of  the  discussion  as  a  model  for  all 

74 


ONLY   ONE  RULE   OF  FAITH.  75 

My  opponent,  in  his  last  letter,  goes  to  the  early 
Church  Councils  to  find  the  doctrines  which  I  advo- 
cate in  these  letters  as  those  of  the  Church  of  the 
New  Jerusalem,  which,  as  many  believe,  are  worthy 
of  all  consideration,  and  as  I  think,  of  all  acceptation, 
too.  He  is,  however,  not  successful  in  finding  the 
views  we  advocate,  in  the  decisions  of  any  of  these 
Councils.  This  I  could  have  told  my  friend,  and 
have  saved  him  the  trouble  of  much  learned  research. 
But  he  will  find  them  where  the  true  doctrines  of 
Christianity  can  only  be  found  ;  that  is,  in  the  Word 
of  God,  and  especially  in  the  Evangelists  and  the 
Apostles. 

We  of  the  New  Church  acknowledge  only  one 
Church  Council,  which  consists  of  the  prophets  and 
the  apostles,  with  the  Lord  as  their  Divine  Head  ; 
and  we  acknowledge  only  one  rule  of  faith,  which 
is  the  Divine  Word  itself.  Ancient  and  modern 
Church  Councils,  which  have  engendered  and  con- 
future  theological  disputants.  There  is  no  rancor ;  no  insinua- 
tion of  Jesuitry ;  no  offensive  personalities  which  have  so  often 
disfigured  and  disgraced  polemical  writings.  Each  believes  in 
the  honesty  and  sincerity  of  the  other,  and  both  bow  to  the 
Word  of  God  as  the  accepted  umpire  in  all  such  investigations. 
So  far,  well.  We  have  nothing  to  say  to  either  as  yet,  but  to 
repeat  our  law  of  Sumviter  in  modo,  fortiter  in  re.  The  breach 
of  this  law  will  instantly  exclude  from  our  pages.  Let  them 
show  cause,  let  them  ( give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  them/ 
with  all  the  skill  and  energy  of  which  they  are  capable;  but  let 
them  never  forget  that  loyalty  to  the  Lord  and  love  to  his  truth 
may  characterize  both,  notwithstanding  the  manifest  difference 
in  interpretation  which  they  exhibit." 


76  THE   NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

firmed  the  dogmas  of  transubstantiation,  purgatory, 
the  worship  of  saints  and  relics,  the  vicarship  of  the 
Pope,  the  withholding  of  the  Scriptures  from  the 
people  ;  the  dogmas  of  predestination  and  uncon- 
ditional election  as  at  the  Protestant  Synod  of  Dort ; 
and  which  have  sanctioned  the  cruelties  of  the  In- 
quisition—all such  councils  are  considered  by  us  as 
so  many  abominations  in  the  history  of  Christianity, 
which  have  mightily  contributed  to  its  consummation 
and  its  ruin.  Sorry,  indeed,  should  I  be,  if  my  learned 
opponent  had  found  any  of  the  Xew-Church  doctrines 
in  the  decisions  of  any  of  these  Church  Councils. 
For  the  almost  universal  tendency  of  these  Coun- 
cils has  been,  to  take  away  from  the  Lord  and  his 
Word  the  authority  which  He,  and  He  only,  ought 
to  have  in  his  Church,  and  to  place  it  upon  the  de- 
cisions and  traditions  of  men.  * 

I  am  perfectly  aware  that  the  ISTicene  Council  in 
325,  established  the  doctrine  of  Three  Persons  in  the 
Trinity,  which  is  not  in  harmony  with  the  New- 
Church  doctrine  of  one  Divine  Person,  in  whom  the 
Trinity,  or  u  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead,  dwells." 
But  this  by  no  means  proves  that  the  doctrine  of 
one  Divine  Person  in  the  Godhead  is  not  the  Scrip- 
tural and  true  doctrine.  The  Council  of  Trent  es- 
tablished the  dogma  of  transubstantiation,  and  the 
adoration  of  saints  and  of  relics  ;  but  are  these  dog- 
mas therefore  true  ?  By  no  means,  as  my  learned 
opponent  admits. 

My  friend,  however,  alludes  to  the  earlier  Council 
of  Antioch,  and  quotes  its  decision  in  respect  to  the 
Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  this  : — 


DEUS  HOMO.  77 

"  That  Christ  was  wholly  God  and  wholly  man  ; 
wholly  God,  notwithstanding  the  body,  hut  not  ">•  to 
his  body  ;  wholly  man,  notwithstanding  the  divinity, 
but  not  as  to  his  divinity  ;  wholly  adorable,  notwith- 
standing the  bqdy,  but  not  as  to  his  body." 

That  Christ  was  "wholly  God  and  wholly  man" 
is  a  great  truth.  But  how  this  truth  is  marred  and 
perverted  by  the  incomprehensible  jargon  with  which 
it*  is  accompanied  in  the  above  extract,  your  readers 
will  instantly  discover.  It  is  common  with  these 
councils  to  take  some  great  truth,  and  pervert  it  by 
their  decisions  and  traditions.  Thus  a  great  truth 
underlies  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  :  this 
truth  is,  the  actual  presence  in  the  Holy  Supper,  of 
the  Lord  in  his  divine  Humanity,  as  the  "  Son  of 
Mean  in  his  glory  ;  "  but  it  is  perverted  by  the  gross 
material  ideas  with  which  it  is  accompanied.  It  is 
like  a  piece  of  gold  under  a  heap  of  rubbish.  Quere 
— Is  not  this  doctrine,  with  all  the  gross  material 
notions  attending  it,  better  than  the  total  denial 
of  the  omnipresence  of  the  Lord  in  his  "glorious 
Body  "  ? 

Now,  if  "  Christ  is  wholly  God,"  He  must  be  the 
one  only  God,  since  there  is  "but  one  God  ;"  and 
if  Christ  at  the  same  time  be  "wholly  man,"  his 
manhood  or  humanity  must  be  Divine.  This  is  the 
truth  which  is  taught  in  the  Gospels  and  the  Epis- 
tles, as  demonstrated  by  numerous  passages  in  my 
former  letters.  If  it  were  not  so,  how  could  He 
"  have  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth  "  ? 

At  another  council  held  at  Alexandria  in  362,  they 
denned,  says  my  friendly  opponent,  the  term  hypos- 
7* 


78  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

tasis  as  signifying  a  person,  or  "individual  exist- 
ence." This  council  was  held  about  forty  years 
after  the  final  establishment  of  the  Athanasian 
Creed.  Now,  this  definition  of  hypostasis  as  mean- 
ing a  distinct  person,  or  "individual  existence," 
has  given  rise  to  the  idea  of  three  Gods.  This  is, 
in  fact,  admitted  by  such  men  as  Bishop  South  and 
Bishop  Beveridge.*  But  the  idea  of  three  Gods,  or 
what  is  the  same,  of  three  "infinite  individual  ex- 
istences," is  fatal  to  all  true  religion,  and  leads  di- 
rectly to  Polytheism  ;  from  which,  permit  me  to  say, 
there  is  no  possibility  of  escape  but  in  the  belief  of 
one  Person  in  the  Deity,  as  is  maintained  by  the 
Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

At  this  same  council,  my  opponent  says,  they  also 
condemned  a  notion  similar  to  that  maintained  by 
the  New  Church,  that  Jesus  had  a  humanity  from 
the  Father  [by  which  he  was  the  Son  of  God] ,  and 
a  humanity  from  the  mother  [by  which  he  was  the 
Son  of  Man],  Thus  the  creed  says,  that  "if  any 
one  teaches  there  are  two  Sons,  one  from  the  God 
and  Father,  and  the  other  from  the  mother,"  etc. 
But  I  ask  your  numerous  readers,  does  not  the  Gos- 
pel make  frequent  mention  of  the  "  Son  of  God,"  and 
of  the  "  Son  of  Man  "  ?  and  are  not  both  these  ex- 
pressions predicated  of  Jesus  Christ?  and  have  they 
not  a  specific  and  distinct  meaning  ?  Surely  this 
Council  was  no  more  in  the  light  of  the  Gospel  than 
was  the  Council  of  Trent,  when  it  confirmed  the 

*  See  extracts  from  their  works  in  "Illustrations  of  the  End 
of  the  Church/'  by  the  Rev.  A,  Clissold,  M.A.,  pp.  77-84. 


FATAL    TO   THE  DIVINE   UNITY.  79 

adoration  of  saints,  images,  relics,  etc.  Let  us,  then, 
my  dear  friend,  away  with  church  councils,  and  let 
us  go  directly  to  the  Lord  himself  in  his  Word,  for 
He  says  unto  us  all  who  are  really  seeking  the  truth, 
"Come  unto  me,"  etc. 

The  direct  force  of  the  passage  in  which  Thomas, 
addressing  the  Lord  after  his  resurrection,  says  "  My 
Lord  and  my  God,"  seems  to  be  evaded  by  the  ad- 
mission that  it  refers  to  the  "proper  Deity  of  Christ, " 
as  though  there  were  two  Deities — the  Deity  of  the 
Father  and  the  Deity  of  the  Son.  This  conception, 
I  am  aware,  is  interiorly  in  the  mind  of  those  who 
think  of  two  Persons  ;  but  is  it  not  fatal  to  the  idea 
of  one  God,  and  tantamount  to  the  idea  of  two  Gods  ? 
But  the  idea  of  one  God,  it  is  admitted,  is  the  basis 
of  all  true  doctrine  ;  and  when  Thomas  calls  Jesus 
"his  God, "he  spoke  the  truth  ;  implying,  of  course, 
that  He  is  the  only  God,  since  there  is  but  one  God. 

That  there  was  a  great  confusion  of  ideas  among 
the  ancient  authors  whom  your  correspondent  men- 
tions, in  respect  to  the  relation  of  the  Divinity  and 
Humanity  in  the  Person  of  Christ,  is  abundantly 
evident.  But  having  studied  both  sides  of  the 
question,  permit  me  to  say  that  Swedenborg,  in  his 
"Doctrine  of  the  Lord."  has  dissipated  this  confu- 
sion and  obscurity,  and  has  introduced  light  and 
harmony  in  its  stead. 

We  do  not  require  any  one  to  believe,  as  your 
correspondent  mistakenly  imagines,  "  that  God  has 
ceased  to  be  God,  or  that  Christ  has  ceased  to  be 
man."  God  did  not  cease  to  be  God  by  becoming 
incarnate,  or  "manifest  in  the  flesh  "  in  the  person 


80  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

of  Christ ;%  nor  did  Christ  cease  to  be  man  by  becom- 
ing glorified  or  Divine  ;  but  He  became  God-Man, 
or,  as  the  orthodox  creed  expresses  it,  u  Not  by  con- 
version of  the  Godhead  into  flesh,  but  by  taking  of 
th o  manhood  into  God."  That  Christ  is  a  man,  as 
stated  in  1  Tim.  ii.  5,  alluded  to  by  my  opponent, 
is  most  true  ;  for  "  He  is  the  one  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus."  But  it  must 
be  well  understood  that  He  is  not  such  a  man  as 
Moses  or  any  of  the  prophets,  but  a  Divine  Man, 
or  the  Divine  Mediator  (Heb.  viii.  6)  between  the 
essential  Deity,  or  the  Father,  and  mankind  ;  as  He 
himself  says,  "No  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but 
by  me."  This  is  another  proof  of  the  Divinity  of 
his  Humanity ;  for  what  can  receive  the  "  whole  ful- 
n£ss  of  the  Deity  "  and  transmit  it  to  others,  except 
a  Divine  Medium  or  Mediator  ?  No  finite  human- 
ity, however  exalted,  is  adequate  to  this  ;  but  the 
Mediator,  as  containing  u  the  infinite  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  "and  transmitting  it  to  others,  must  itself 
be  infinite  and  Divine.  We  are  not  to  conceive  of 
the  Mediator  as  of  another  and  separate  Person  from 
the  Deity,  or  as  of  a  distinct  "  individual  existence," 
but  as  of. the  "glorious  Body  "  of  the  Divine  Soul, 
or  of  the  Godhead  within  it.  A  man's  body  is  the 
medium  or  mediator  between  his  soul  and  all  others. 
His  body  receives  the  fulness  of  the  life  of  his  soul, 
and  transmits  it  to  others.  In  like  manner,  but  in 
an  infinitely  higher  sense,  it  may  be  said  of  Him, 
of  whom  man  is  but  a  feeble  and  finite  image. 

UC.  B."  is  much  mistaken  when  he  says  f  that 
* '  A.  V."  admits  that 


HAD   CHRIST  A    HUMAN  SOUL?  81 

"  Christ  was  a  man  without  a  human  soul,  like  those 
of  whom  Tertullian  writes  in  his  Treatise  '  De  Game 
Christi." 

Now,  as  this  denial  of  a  human  soul  to  Christ 
when  in  the  world,  is  often  alleged  against  us,  per- 
mit me  to  say  that  the  New-Church  doctrines  teach, 
with  the  Apostle,  "  that  in  all  things  [as  to  the  hu- 
manity born  of  the  Virgin]  He  was  like  unto  his 
brethren."  He  had,  consequently,  like  his  breth- 
ren, a  rational  human  soul  or  animus.  For  this 
rational  human  soul  necessarily  belongs  to  human- 
ity ;  a  humanity  cannot  be  a  humanity  without  it. 
It  was  this  soul  which  He  u  poured  out  unto  death  ;  " 
but  we  beg  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that,  being 
conceived  of  Jehovah  the  Divine  Father,  and  not 
of  a  human  father  (Matt.  i.  18,  25 ;  Luke  i.  35),  his 
essential,  or  inmost  sou?,  that  is  his  ANIMA  as  dis- 
tinguished from  his  animus  was  Jehovah  himself,  as 
"God  manifest  in  the  flesh." 

My  learned  opponent  well  knows,  from  psychology, 
that  a  man  inherits  a  nature  from  his  father  which 
may  be  termed  his  internal  or  li  inward  man,"  and 
that  he  inherits  also  a  nature  from  his  mother,  which 
may  be  called  his  external  or  u  outward  man  "  (see 
2  Cor.  iv.  16).  Now,  uin  all  things"  as  to  his  in- 
heritance from  the  mother,  Jesus  was,  as  said  by 
the  Apostle,  "like  unto  his  brethren ;"  but  in  all 
things  as  to  his  inheritance  from  the  Father,  He 
was  infinitely  to  be  distinguished  from  all  other  men  ; 
and  finally,  when  fully  glorified  at  the  resurrection, 
and  when  "He  ascended  far  above  all  heavens  that 
He  might  fill  all  things,"  u  before  whom  every  knee 
F 


82  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

in  heaven  and  on  earth  shall  bow  "  (Phil.  ii.  10),  He 
is,  as  to  his  animus  and  also  as  to  his  body,  to  be  in- 
finitely distinguished  above  all  others  ;  that  is,  his 
Humanity  or  "  glorious  Body  "  is  Divine,  and  infi- 
nitely to  be  distinguished  from  the  body  of  an  angel 
in  heaven  and  of  a  man  in  the  world. 

No  term  in  the  English  language  is  probably  so 
indeterminate  as  the  term  soul.  From  the  want  of  a 
true  psychology,  or\rue  doctrine  of  the  soul,  men 
have  the  most  indefinite  and  obscure  ideas  of  this 
most  important  subject.  To  some  the  term  soul 
presents  the  idea  of  an  abstract  thinking  principle 
without  any  form  or  organization  whatever ;  to 
others,  of  a  merely  ethereal  principle  without  any 
definable  form  ;  to  others,  a  something  vital,  a  kind 
of  "  vital  spark  "  which  animates  the  body  so  long 
as  it  is  connected  with  it.  Others,  again,  think  that 
the  soul  is  a  mere  predicate  of  the  activity  of  the 
cerebral  and  nervous  system,  apart  from  which  it 
has  no  existence.  The  Materialists,  for  the  most 
part,  think  in  this  manner.  Whereas  the  truth  is, 
that  the  soul  is  the  very -man  himself  in  a  perfectly 
organized  human  form,  consisting  of  spiritual  sub- 
stances, called  by  the  Apostle  a  " spiritual  body," 
and  seen  as  such  whenever  angels  and  spirits  are 
mentioned  in  Scripture.  The  soul,  whilst  man  lives 
in  the  world,  is  clothed  with  natural  substances 
called  a  "natural  body,"  and  when  this  body  dies, 
the  soul  rises  in  its  own  human  form  in  its  own 
world — the  spiritual  world,  in  which  it  is  created  to 
live  forever. 

Now  a  true  doctrine  of  the  soul  teaches  us  to  think 


ANIMA,  MENS  AND  ANIMUS.  83 

of  man  as  consisting  of  an  anima,  a  mens,  an  animus, 
and  finally  of  a  corpus  or  body.  The  anima  is  the 
inmost  region  of  man,  and  it  stands  for  what  is  most 
commonly  understood  by  the  term  soul.  The  term 
anima  involves  also  what  Swedeuborg  understands 
by  the  human  internal  (A.  C.  1099),  which  properly 
regarded,  is  the  inmost  region  of  the  anima.  Again, 
this  anima  is,  as  the  inmost  principle  in  man,  uni- 
versal ;  that  is,  it  is  not  only  the  inmost  principle  in 
itself,  but  is  also  the  inmost  principle  of  the  mens  or 
rational  mind,  also  of  the  animus  or  natural  mind, 
and  likewise  of  the  body  itself.  It  is  from  this 
ground  that  in  some  cases  whilst  thinking  from 
common  influx,  we  employ  the  term  souls  to  signify 
men  themselves,  as  when  we  say  there  are  twenty 
thousand  souls  in  that  city. 

The  mens  is  the  rational  mind  in  which  man's  con- 
sciousness is.  The  upper  region  of  the  mens,  called 
the  spiritual  and  celestial  mind,  consists  of  the  purest 
spiritual  substances,  and  is  united  with  the  anima  as 
its  actuating  principle,  conveying  the  Lord's  life  from 
its  first  receptacle,  the  human  internal,  into  every 
region  below  it. 

The  lower  region  of  the  mens  consists  of  the 
purest  natural  substances,  discretely  distinct  from 
the  natural  substances  of  which  the  body  consists, 
and  is  the  seat  of  man's  rational  consciousness  whilst 
in  the  world,  and  is  also  in  the  middle,  between  the 
anima  on  the  one  hand  and  the  animus  on  the  other. 
In  the  inmost  of  the  mens,  or  of  the  rational  mind, 
our  conscious  human  principle  commences ;  all  above 
this,  called  the  human  internal,  and  involved  by  Swe- 


84  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

denborg  in  the  term  anima,  is  above  our  conscious- 
ness. In  proportion  as  a  man  is  actuated  in  his  mo- 
tives, thoughts,  and  feelings,  by  the  higher  or  purely 
spiritual  mens,  he  becomes  u  spiritually  minded  "  and 
is  heavenly  ;  but  in  proportion  as  he  is  actuated  by 
his  lower  animus  only,  he  does  not  become  spiritual 
and  heavenly,  but  remains  sensual  or  "carnally 
minded." 

The  animus  is  the  natural  mind,  and  is  interme- 
diate between  the  mens  and  the  body.  It  also  con- 
sists of  purely  natural  substances  separable  by  a  dis- 
crete degree  from  the  material  substances  of  the 
body.  When  the  body  dies,  this  animus,  which  now 
whilst  living  in  the  world  is  the  seat  of  our  external 
memory  and  imaginative  faculty,  and  also  of  our  de- 
sires and  cupidities,  becomes  in  the  spiritual  world 
the  external  form  or  u  spiritual  body  "  of  man. 

This  animus,  together  with  the  natural  mens  or 
mind,  which,  as  stated,  consists  of  the  purest  natural 
substances,  is  also  the  seat  of  our  hereditary  evil  pro- 
pensities, which  must  be  born  again  or  regenerated, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  in  harmony  with  the  spirit- 
ual celestial  mens  or  mind,  and  thus  be  saved.  In 
its  unregenerate  state  this  part  of  man's  psycho- 
logical constitution  is  in  the  form  of  hell,  with  all 
-  its  tendencies  downward.  Hence  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  regeneration  in  order  to  be  saved. 

The  emotions  of  the  animus  are  visible  in  the  coun- 
tenance of  the  body,  and  we  can  in  some  measure 
read  the  volitions  and  thoughts  of  the  animus  in  the 
face  as  its  index.  After  death  the  countenance  of 
this  animus  becomes  itself  the  face  or  index  of  the 


ANIMA—THE  INMOST  SOUL.  85 

wens,  or  rational  or  interior  mind,  and  far  more 
clearly  indicates  the  volitions,  emotions  and  thoughts 
of  its  spirit,  than  the  external  countenance  visible  in 
the  world  can  image  forth  the  volitions  and  thoughts 
of  its  animus. 

Now  the  anima,  as  stated,  is  not  only  the  inmost 
soul  or  actuating  principle  of  man,  but  it  is  also  the 
most  universal — that  is,  it  is  the  inmost  soul  of  the 
mcns,  of  the  animus,  and  of  the  body.  Moreover  all 
these  regions  thus  designated,  become  perfect  just 
in  proportion  as  they  are  governed  by  the  animat 
and  are  assimilated  to  its  purely  spiritual  and  celes- 
tial nature  ;  but  they  become  imperfect  and  depraved 
in  proportion  as  they  are  governed  by  the  animus, 
and  subjected  to  its  lower  nature  and  promptings. 
In  the  one  case  the  spirit  bears  rule,  and  the  man 
"walks  after  the  spirit ; "  but  in  the  other  the  flesh 
bears  rule,  and  the  man  u walks  after  the  flesh." 
(Rom.  viii.)  In  the  former  case  he  is  prepared  for 
heaven,  but  in  the  latter,  if  he  die  in  that  state,  he 
is  corrupted  and  is  fitted  only  for  hell. 

In  man  the  anima  or  inmost  and  universal  prin- 
ciple is  finite,  and  only  a  receptacle  of  life,  and  by 
1  no  means  life  itself ;  but  in  the  Lord  the  anima  was 
Life  itself,  Infinite,  Jehovah,  and  the  Father ;  and 
this  is  the  infinite  distinction  between  Him  as  con- 
ceived of  Jehovah  or  of  the  indivisible  Deity,  and 
every  other  man  as  conceived  of  an  earthly  father. 
Keeping  this  distinction  in  view,  which  is  so  clearly 
pointed  out  in  Scripture  (Matt.  i.  20,  25 ;  Luke  i. 
35  ;  John  i.  1-14),  we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  see- 
ing that  the  anima  assimilates  to  itself  and  becomes, 
8 


86  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

by  the  law  of  subordination  and  coordination,  one 
with  everything  beneath  it ;  that  is,  with  the  mens, 
the  animus,  and  the  corpus.  This,  in  theological  lan- 
guage, is  called  regeneration,  which  consists  in  put- 
ting off  and  rejecting  whatsoever  is  evil  and  false  in 
the  exterior  mens  and  the  animus,  and  in  putting  on 
from  the  anima,  or  rather  from  the  Lord  through 
the  anima  and  from  the  interior  mens,  a  new  exterior 
mens,  and  a  new  animus,  and  thus  having  the  external 
man  entirely  renewed.  This  is  meant  by  what  the 
Apostle  says  about  u  putting  off  the  old  man,  and 
putting  on  the  new."  (Eph.  iv.  22,  23  ;  Col.  iii.  9, 
10.)  But  in  the  Lord's  case  this  process  of  putting 
off  the  infirm  humanity  from  the  mother,  and  put- 
ting on  the  Divine  Humanity  from  the  Father  within 
Him,  is  called  Glorification;  which  process  He  effected 
from  himself,  that  is,  from  his  own  anima,  which,  as 
already  said,  was  Jehovah,  Life  itself,  and  infinite, 
and  by  himself,  that  is,  by  his  own  power.  In  man's 
case  this  process,  called  regeneration,  extends  down- 
wards only  to  his  animus,  or  to  the  external  of  his 
spirit,  and  not  to  his  material  body.  But  in  the 
Lord's  case  the  process  of  glorification  extended 
through  all  the  degrees  of  the  Humanity  to  the  very 
flesh  and  bones  of  his  natural  body  ;  so  that,  unlike 
all  other  men,  He  arose  with  his  glorified  natural 
Body  complete,  as  He  declared  when  He  said— u  A 
spirit  [or  a  man  in  his  risen  state]  hath  not  flesh 
and  bones  as  ye  see  me  have."  (Luke  xxiv.  39.) 
But  his  Body,  as  Swedenborg  says,  was  "no  longer 
material  but  Divine  Substantial." 
From  this  psychological  sketch  of  man,  drawn  from 


DIVINE  AS  TO  HIS  INMOST.  87 

the  enlightened  Swedenborg,  we  are  in  a  position  to 
answer  the  question  so  often  put  to  the  New  Church, 
namely,  "Had  the  Lord  a  human  soul?"  which, 
it  is  alleged,  He  must  have  had  if,  as  the  Apostle 
says,  "  He  was  in  all  things  like  unto  his  brethren  " 
(Heb.  ii.  17)  ;  or  if,  as  Swedenborg  says,  "His  Hu- 
manity from  the  mother  was  in  itself  like  the  hu- 
manity of  another  man."  (D.  L.  35.)  We  answer 
that  the  Lord  had  not  a  human  soul  in  the  sense  of 
anima,  for  in  this  He  was,  owing  to  his  conception, 
Infinite  and  Divine  ;  but  He  had,  as  to  the  humanity 
from  the  mother,  a  human  animus,  and  in  this  respect 
He  was  "  like  unto  his  brethren. "  By  glorification, 
however,  his  animus  and  also  his  body  became,  as 
we  have  seen,  Divine  ;  and  therefore  He  ceased  not 
only  to  be  "like  unto  his  brethren,"  but  infinitely 
to  be  distinguished  and  exalted  above  them.  How 
erroneous,  then,  it  must  be  to  think  of  the  Lord  as 
He  is  now,  since  his  full  glorification,  as  "  being  in 
all  things  like  unto  his  brethren."  For  those  who 
thus  falsely  think  of  Him  (as  is  the  case  with  all 
who  adopt  the  common  theology)  can  only  think  of 
his  Humanity  or  Body  as  being  like  that  of  any  good 
man,  and  not  infinite  and  Divine,  "  in  which  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwells  bodily  ;  "  and  conse- 
quently they  cannot,  in  a  true  sense,  think  of  Him 
as  being  "one  with  the  Father,"  and  as  the  one 
only  Object  of  supreme  love  and  worship. 

Now  the  term  soul,  as  already  said,  is  so  indistinct 
and  obscure  as  not  to  point  out  this  important  dis- 
tinction between  the  anima  and  the  animus,  which 
it  is  essentially  necessary  to  see,  in  order  that  we 


88  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

may  have  a  correct  view  of  the  psychology  of  man, 
and  likewise  a  correct  idea  of  the  Lord,  especially 
during  the  process  of  his  glorification.  Those  who 
are  not  in  tho  habit  of  studying  Swedenborg  in  his 
own  language,  are  in  danger— although  the  vener- 
able Clowes,  in  his  translations,  endeavored  to  ob- 
viate it  by  printing  in  many  cases  the  terms  anirna 
and  animus  with  brackets— of  not  making  this  dis- 
tinction, and  consequently  of  forming  either  an  ob- 
scure or  erroneous  notion  about  it. 

"  Operation,"  says  CC.  B.'  uis  not  a  part  of  man 
at  all."  This  must  appear  strange  to  my  opponent 
himself,  when  he  reflects  that,  without  operation  a 
man  has  no  manifest  life,  and  consequently  no  use- 
fulness. He  might  as  well  be  standing  or  lying 
still,  without  motion,  like  a  statue.  Surely  opera- 
tion, instead  of  being  no  part  of  man  at  all,  is  one 
of  the  essential  parts,  of  which  the  soul  and  the 
body  are  the  two  other  essential  parts. 

My  friend  does  not,  he  says,  "undertake  to  jus- 
tify or  defend  the  Athanasian  creed."  This  is  a 
concession  to  our  arguments  ;  but  let  him  know  that 
this  creed  is  the  basis  of  orthodoxy.  The  time  will 
come  when  no  enlightened  Christian  will  justify  or 
defend  it. 

"The  argument,"  says  'C.  B.,'  "that  'the  Hu- 
manity of  Christ  is  divine  because  in  Him  dwelleth 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily  '  is  inconclu- 
sive. God  dwells  in  his  people  ;  are  they  therefore 
divine,  or  is  their  humanity  divine  ?  " 

It  is  nowhere  said  that  "ALL  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead"  dwells  in  his  people.  It  is  true  that 


SWEDENBORG'S  PSYCHOLOGY.  89 

"they  receive  of  his  fulness,"  and  that  He  prer*  nts 
to  them  uall  his  fulness  ;  "  but  they  cannot,  as  be- 
ing finite,  receive  "ALL  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead;  " 
for  none  but  an  infinite  Person  could  receive  the  en- 
tire Godhead,  or  "have  all  things  that  the  Father 
hath"  (John  xvi.  15).  The  Socinians  have  tried 
this  argument,  and  have  failed.* 

I  am  yours,  etc.,  A.  Y. 

*  In  respect  to  the  terms  anima,  mena  and  animus,  discussed 
above,  a  clear  idea  of  which  is  indispensable  to  a  genuine  psy- 
chology, or  to  a  right  knowledge  of  the  human  soul  and  its 
constitution,  we  will  confirm  from  Swedenborg  what  is  there 
presented  as  a  right  view  of  the  subject. 

"  The  anima  is  a  man's  inmost  principle."  (C.  L.  158.)  "  The 
anima  is  a  superior  spiritual  substance,  and  receives  influx  im- 
mediately from  God."  (Doct.  of  Influx  8.)  "  The  anima  is  the 
inmost  principle  of  man's  life,  and  is  from  the  father,  and  is 
clothed  with  a  body  from  the  mother."  (A.  C.  6716,  10125.) 
"  The  mena  or  rational  mind  receives  life  through  the  anima 
from  God."  (Influx  8.) 

"The  metis  or  mind  is  composed  of  will  and  understanding." 
(D.  L.  W.  239,  372,  387.)  "  The  interiors  of  man  which  belong 
to  his  mind  are  distinguished  by  discrete  degrees."  (76.  186, 
203.)  "Thus  there  is  a  natural,  spiritual  and  celestial  mind." 
(76.239,  260.)  "The  natural  mind  is  composed  of  spiritual, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  natural,  substances."  (76.  257,  200, 
270,  273.)  "It  surrounds  and  includes  the  spiritual  and  celes- 
tial mind."  (76.260.)  "The  natural  mind  is  in  its  form  or 
image  a  world,  and  the  spiritual  mind  is  in  its  form  or  imago 
a  heaven."  (76.  270.) 

But  as  to  the  animus,  Swedenborg  defines  it  as  being  below 
the  mens,  and  "as  being  the  form,  or  as  consisting  of  the  ideas 
of  the  common  or  external  sensory,  and  as  the  active  and  liv- 
ing principle  of  all  changes  in  the  body."  (Animal  Kingdom, 
8* 


90  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

part  vii.,  p.  89.)  Thus  the  animus  is  proximately  connected 
with  the  bod}r,  and  in  the  face  of  the  body  we  behold  the  affec- 
tions, passions  and  emotions  of  the  animus.  See  A.  C.  4326, 
Latin  text. 

Without  pursuing  the  subject  further,  we  have  here  a  psy- 
chological analysis  from  Swedenborg  of  the  human  soul,  which 
is  very  clear  and  intelligible,  and  such  as  by  reflection  we  may 
know  and  feel  to  be  true. 

In  the  Apocalypse  Explained,  No.  750,  the  author  gives  seven 
significations  in  which  the  term  soul  is  employed  in  the  Word 
of  God,  which  we  will  here  adduce: — 1.  The  term  anima,  soul 
in  general,  signifies  man.  2.  Specifically  the  life  of  the  body. 
3.  The  life  of  the  spirit  of  man.  4.  The  faculty  of  understand- 
ing. 5.  The  term  soul  signifies  Divine  Truth.  6.  Spiritual  life. 
7.  Living  soul  signifies  life  in  general.  All  these  significations 
are  abundantly  proved  by  Scripture. 


LETTER  VI. 
THE  TRINITY  IN  ONE  DIVINE  PERSON. 

)  IR:— I  am  glad  that  my  learned  opponent  has 
left  the  dark  province  of  church  councils,  and 
come  back  again  to  the  Word  of  God.  For 
it  is  proverbial  that  nothing  has  so  much  darkened 
"the  whole  counsel  of  God  "  as  these  church  syn- 
ods, from  the  Council  of  Nice  to  that  of  Trent,  in 
which  the  worship  of  saints,  images,  relics,  bones, 
etc.,  has  been  sanctioned  and  established. 

The  discussion  as  it  now  stands  may,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  your  numerous  and  intelligent  readers,  be  thus 
briefly  stated  : — The  New  Church  admits  of  but  one 
Divine  Person,  "  in  whom  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head dwells  bodily,"  who  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Thus  one  Lord,  and  one  undivided  faith  in  Him,  is 
the  only  faith  of  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 
For  we  know  that  He  is  not  only  the  "Author  and 
Finisher  of  our  faith,"  but  that  when  our  faith  is 
directed  to  Him,  it  is  at  the  same  time  directed  to 
the  Father — "  whoso  seeth  me  seeth  the  Father  " — 
arid  to  all  the  fulnass  of  Deity.  This  fulness,  it  can- 
not be  doubted,  is  the  Divine  Trinity  ;  consequently 
our  faith  is  directed  at  once  to  the  Trinity  as  con- 
centrated in  the  Divine  Person  of  Jesus. 

My  opponent  adduces  the  passage  in  Ephesians 
iii.  19—"  That  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness 

91 


92  THE  NEW-CHURCH    THEOLOGY. 

of  God,"  alleging  that  if  a  Christian  can  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God,  therefore  his  humanity 
has  as  great  a  claim  to  divinity  as  that  of  Christ. 
But,  as  stated  in  my  former  letters,  although  God 
presents  to  us  "all  his  fulness,"  and  although  "  we 
receive  of  his  fulness  "  (John  i.  16),  yet  we  cannot 
receive  ALL  his  fulness,  still  less  can  "  ALL  the  God- 
head dwell  bodily"  in  the  Christian,  as  it  does  in 
Jesus  Christ.  The  sun  presents  to  us  all  the  fulness 
of  its  light  and  heat ;  it  withholds  nothing  from  us  ; 
but  can  we  receive  all  its  fulness  ?  We  only  receive 
"  of  its  fulness  "  as  much  as  we  can  sustain.  But 
all  the  fulness  of  the  "  Sun  of  Kighteousness  "  dwells 
bodily  in  Jesus,  from  whom  we  must  receive  what- 
ever of  fulness  we  can  sustain.  True  Christians, 
and  angels,  or  the  "spirits  of  just  men  made  per- 
fect in  heaven,"  are  constantly  receiving  a  greater 
measure  of  this  fulness  ;  but  they  can  never  arrive 
at  a  period  when  they  can  be  said  to  have  received 
11  all  the  fulness,"  for  they  are  finite,  and  "all  the 
fulness  "  is  infinite  fulness,  which  no  finite  being  can 
possibly  receive.  There  is  only  one  that  could  re- 
ceive "the  Spirit  without  measure  "  (John  iii.  34), 
or  in  infinite  fulness  ;  and  that  one  is  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  I  am  sure  that  if  my  learned  opponent  who 
is  a  firm  believer  in  the  Deity  of  Christ,  will  reflect 
for  a  moment  on  what  is  here  said,  he  will  not  join 
with  the  Socinian  in  arguing  against  us. 

Whereas  the  opposite  position  maintained  by  my 
opponent  is,  that  there  are  three  Persons  of  the  God- 
head, each  of  whom,  as  the  creed  expresses  it,  is  "by 
himself  God  and  Lord."  Thus  the  faith  of  such 


GOD   IN  CHRIST.  93 

believers  must  needs  be  distracted  ;  nor  can  they 
have  one  undivided  faith  directed  to  one  Object  of 
worship,  or  to  One  God.  But  I  must  not  forget  that 
my  intelligent  friend  has  ceased  ic  to  justify  or  de- 
fend the  Athanasian  Creed,"  and  therefore  I  shall 
say  nothing  more  about  it.  I  will  only  add  that  no- 
where in  Scripture  is  it  said  that  we  are  to  pray  to 
the  Father  "for  the  sake  of  the  Son,  or  of  Christ." 
It  is  indeed  said  in  our  common  version,  in  one  pas- 
sage, (Ephesians  iv.  32,)  "Even  as  God  for  C///-'V/'.s 
safre  hath  forgiven  you  ; "  but  on  referring  to  the 
Greek  text,  we  read  en  to  Christo,  and  every  student 
knows  that  the  passage  should  read  thus  :— "  as  God 
in  Christ  hath  forgiven  you."  This  true  rendering 
conveys  quite  another  idea,  as  it  shows  us  that  God 
in  CJirist  is  one  Person  and  not  two.  The  trans- 
lators having  two  Persons  in  their  thought,  so 
rendered  it.  But  no  criticism  is  required  to  show 
that  the  common  version  of  the  passage  is  erroneous. 
I  will  merely  state  that  the  Church  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  thankfully  accepts  the  common  version 
of  the  Scriptures,  as  being,  with  but  few  exceptions 
of  which  the  above  is  an  instance,  correct.  We 
only  require  the  absolute  literal  sense,  which,  in- 
cluding the  marginal  readings,  the  common  version 
for  the  most  part  gives.  We  require  no  learned 
twistings  of  the  obvious,  literal  sense,  to  confirm 
and  illustrate  our  doctrines.  I  mention  this  fact, 
because  some  may  suppose  that  we  require,  like  the 
Unitarians,  an  entirely  new  version  as  the  basis  of 
our  doctrinal  system  ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  the 
case. 


94  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

Whilst,  however,  it  is  nowhere  said  that  we  are 
to  pray  to  the  Father  "  for  the  sake  of  Christ,"  yet 
most  true  it  is  that  we  are  to  pray  uin  his  NAME," 
for  his  name  involves  the  idea  of  his  nature,  quality, 
and  attributes  ;  and  as  his  Person  is  the  personal 
manifestation  of  the  Father  who  dwells  in  Him  as 
the  soul  dwells  in  the  body,  when  we  direct  our  wor- 
ship and  prayers  to  Him  alone,  we  truly  pray  to  the 
Father  in  his  name.  That  his  name  is  not  a  mere 
word  consisting  of  so  many  letters,  but  his  own 
divine  Personal  Form,  or  his  Humanity,  is  evident 
from  many  declarations,  but  especially  from  this — 
"Father,  glorify  thy  name;  then  came  there  a  voice 
from  heaven,  saying, — I  have  both  glorified  it  and 
will  glorify  it  again."  (John  xii.  28.)  Here,  thy 
name  means  the  Humanity  or  Person  of  Jesus,  which 
was  the  only  subject  of  glorification.  !N~or  must  we 
consider  that  the  "voice  from  heaven"  is  the  Fa- 
ther's voice,  as  a  distinct  Person  from  the  Son  ;  for 
it  is  expressly  declared  that  "no  man  hath  at  any 
time  heard  the  Father's  voice. ' '  (John  v.  37. )  But 
a  voice  from  heaven  was  a  revelation  or  a  declara- 
tion of  the  Divine  Truth  as  to  the  process  of  glori- 
fication, on  which  process  the  work  of  redemption 
and  atonement  mainly  depended,  and  also  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  Humanity  thus  glorified. 

That  we  should  have  a  right  conception  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  or  Holy  Ghost  (for  it  is  the  same  term 
in  the  Greek),  as  the  third  essential  of  the  Trinity, 
every  thinking  Christian  must  admit.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  enjoy  the  true  light  of  the  Gospel  unless  we 
see  clearly  what  the  Holy  Spirit  is,  and  know  some- 


THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  95 

thing  of  its  action  or  operation.  The  Scriptures 
clearly  show  us  both  these  important  points.  The 
meaning  of  the  term  spirit  both  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  is  breath  or  wind.  \\re  often  read  in  the  Old 
Testament  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  in  three  places 
of  the  " Spirit  of  his  Holiness,"  or  the  "Spirit  of 
Holiness,"  rendered  not  so  literally  "his  Holy 
Spirit."  (Psalm  li.  11 ;  Isaiah  Ixiii.  10,  11.)  No- 
where do  we  read  of  the  Spirit  as  a  Person  distinct 
from  God  himself,  but  as  the  action  or  influence  of 
God  operating  upon  all,  and  especially  upon  men  to 
regenerate  and  save  them.  Thus,  "the  Spirit  of 
God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters."  (Gen.  i. 
2.)  Here  the  Spirit  of  God,  it  is  evident,  is  not  a 
personality  separate  from  God,  but  the  influence, 
action  or  operation  of  God.  Again,  "God  breathed 
into  man's  nostrils  the  breath  (or  spirit)  of  life,"  etc. 
(Gen.  ii.  7.)  God  did  not  breathe  into  man  a  per- 
son, but  a  "breath  of  life."  No  term  can  be  more 
appropriate  to  denote  the  living  action  of  God's  all- 
pervading  life.  Again,  "I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit 
upon  all  flesh,"  etc.  (Joel  ii.  28.)  God  did  not  pour 
out  a  personality,  but  a  breath  or  spirit  of  life,  to 
denote  his  all-vivifying  influence  or  operation.  That 
this  spirit  was  indicative  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  which 
we  read  in  the  New  Testament,  is  evident  from  Acts 
ii.  17.  The  Spirit  came  upon  the  Apostles  not  as  a 
Person,  but  as  a  "mighty  wind."  (Yerse  2.) 

But  we  read  in  John  vii.  39,  "  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
not  yet  (that  is,  did  not  yet  exist),  because  Jesus 
was  not  yet  glorified."  The  term  given  is  in  italics, 
to  denote  that  it  is  not  expressed  in  the  original. 


96  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

Here  it  is  evident  that  the  specific  thing  meant  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Kew  Testament,  did  not  ex- 
ist before  the  glorification  of  Jesus.  It  is  true  that 
prior  to  the  glorification  of  Jesus  there  was  the  Spirit 
of  God,  but  not  specifically  the  "Holy  Spirit,"  as 
after  the  glorification. 

We  read  in  Matt.  i.  18,  20,  and  in  Luke  i.  35,  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  or  Spirit,  prior  to  the  glorification 
of  Jesus,  and  prior  to  the  period  when  it  is  expressly 
said  that  the  " Holy  Spirit  was  not."  (John  v.  32.) 
But  the  reason  why  we  thus  read  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  because  the  Humanity  of  Jesus  was  then  about 
to  be  conceived  and  born  in  the  world.  This  Divine 
Power,  or  the  u  Power  of  the  Highest,"  as  it  is  also 
called,  was  then  operative  in  the  womb  of  the  virgin 
forming  his  Humanity,  which  afterwards,  when  Je- 
'sus  was  glorified,  came  forth  from  his  Humanity 
with  seven-fold  efficacy,  u  to  save  to  the  uttermost  " 
(Heb.  viii.  25),  and  to  reach  and  heal  every  case  of 
sinful  depravity  that  ever  did  or  that  ever  can  occur. 
This  seven-fold  efficacy  is  denoted  in  Isaiah  xxx.  26, 
by  "  the  light  of  the  moon  being  as  the  light  of  the 
sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  seven-fold  as  the  light 
of  seven  days,  in  the  day  that  the  Lord  bindeth  up 
the  breach  of  his  people  and  healeth  the  stroke  of 
their  wound."  Thus  prior  to  the  incarnation  and 
glorification,  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
"as  the  light  of  the  moon"  as  it  then  operated 
through  the  finite  medium  of  angels  or  of  the  an- 
gelic heaven  ;  but  since  the  glorification,  it  operates 
through  the  infinite  Medium  of  the  Divine  Human- 
ity, and  is  thus  seven-fold, greater  in  its  power,  de- 


IMPARTAT10N   OF    THE  SPIRIT.  97 

noted  by  the  u  light  of  the  sun  being  as  the  light  of 
seven  days,'7  when  redemption  was  accomplished, 
as  signified  u  by  binding  up  the  breach  of  his  people 
and  healing  the  stroke  of  their  wound."  It  must 
not  be  considered  that  the  rays  of  the  Divine  Sun 
of  Righteousness  were  thereby  changed ;  but  by 
being  centred  in  the  Divine  Humanity,  in  which 
"all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwells  bodily," 
they  were  transmitted  by  our  u  Saviour  God  "  with 
seven-fold  efficacy  to  regenerate  and  save  mankind. 
The  rays  of  the  natural  sun,  by  being  concentrated 
in  the  focus  of  a  lens,  are  not  thereby  changed,  but 
are  rendered,  as  it  were,  seven-fold  more  efficacious 
in  their  operation.  And  so  it  was  by  the  rays  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  as  centred  in  the  Divine 
Person  of  Jesus.  Thus  the  Lord  since  the  glorifi- 
cation of  his  Humanity,  acts  by  his  Holy  Spirit  im- 
mediately upon  all,  but  prior  to  the  glorification  He 
acted  mediately  through  heaven.  To  signify  this 
important  difference,  it  is  said  in  the  passage  already 
quoted,  that  the  uHoly  Spirit  was  not  yet,  because 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified."  It  belongs  to  a  true 
theology  to  point  out  this  most  important  distinc- 
tion. 

But  after  the  resurrection,  or  after  the  glorifica- 
tion of  Jesus,  uHe  breathed  upon  his  disciples  and 
said,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit."  (John  xx.  22.) 
Thus  we  may  say,  in  contradistinction  to  what  is 
said  in  John  vii.  39,  quoted  above,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  did  then  exist,  because  Jesus  was  then  glorified. 
Now  Jesus,  it  is  evident,  did  not  breathe  a  person 
upon  his  disciples,  but  a  life-giving  influence,  which 
9  G 


98  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

could,  from  himself,  operate  in  all  u  who  come  unto 
Him  as  the  author  of  their  salvation  "  (Heb.  v.  9)? 
the  graces  of  regeneration.  When  we  compare  this 
breathing  or  living  action  of  Jesus  with  the  breathing 
of  Jehovah  God  in  Gen.  ii.,  as  quoted  above,  we  have 
the  most  powerful  evidence  that  Jesus  in  his  Divine 
Humanity  is  one  and  the  same  with  Jehovah  God, 
since  there  can  be  but  one  Breather  or  Giver  of  life. 
If  you  say  that  in  Genesis  it  is  meant  merely  nat- 
ural or  physical  life,  and  in  John  moral  and  spiritual 
life,  I  reply,  that  the  giver  of  the  one  is  the  giver  of 
the  other,  as  there  can  be  but  one  Source  or  Giver 
of  life. 

Even  prior  to  the  full  glorification  of  Jesus,  it  is 
said  that  ua  virtue  went  out  of  Him  and  healed 
them  all."  (Luke  vi.  19.)  Now,  this  virtue  or  power 
which  went  out  of  Jesus  was  the  holy,  proceeding 
influence  which,  after  the  full  glorification  of  his 
Humanity,  went  out  of  Him  in  all  its  infinite  ful- 
ness. This  virtue  or  power  is  evidently  the  same  as 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  are  we  to  construe  this  virtue, 
or  this  healing  and  life-giving  power,  into  a  person  ? 
Certainly  not.  This  virtue  is  now,  and  ever  will  be, 
going  forth  from  Him  as  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  oper- 
ating upon  all  of  us  ;  and  if  we  do  not  resist  it  by 
refusing  to  believe  in  Him  and  to  obey  his  precepts, 
it  will  also  heal  us  of  all  our  spiritual  diseases,  that 
is,  save  us  from  our  sins. 

To  take,  therefore,  a  proper  view  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  we  should  take  it  from  the  exposition  which 
the  Lord  gives  us  when  He  breathed  upon  his  dis- 
ciples and  said,  u  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit."  The 


THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  AN  INFLUENCE.          99 

question  now  comes,  shall  we  find  this  in  perfect 
accordance  with  everything  that  is  said  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  New  Testament  ?  We  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying  that  it  is  in  the  most  perfect  accord- 
ance. He  calls  it  the  "  Spirit  of  Truth  "  (John  xiv. 
19),  and  He  calls  himself  the  Truth  (John  xiv.  6) ; 
consequently  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Spirit  of  him- 
self. Again,  He  says  that  "He  sends  it  from  the 
Father  "  (John  xv.  26) ;  because  the  Father  is  in 
Him,  and  He  consequently  sends  it  of  himself  from 
the  Father. 

The  Apostle  says,  u  the  Lord  (meaning  Christ)  is 
that  Spirit."  (2  Cor.  iii.  17.)  Thus  the  Lord  is  not 
only  the  giver  or  sender  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  it  is 
identified  with  himself;  showing  us  clearly  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  Lord  himself  acting  upon  us  by 
his  life  of  love  and  wisdom.  And  it  was  the  Spirit, 
or  as  is  evident  from  the  commencement  of  every  ad- 
dress, the  Lord  himself,  who  addresses  the  churches 
in  the  Apocalypse.  Compare  the  end  of  each  ad- 
dress with  the  beginning,  and  this  with  the  first 
chapter  of  that  divine  Book,  and  you  will  find  that 
not  only  the  Apostle  identifies  as  above  the  Holy 
Spirit  with  the  tord,  but  that  the  Lord  also  identi- 
fies the  Spirit  with  himself ;  thus  showing  that  the 
Spirit  is  the  divine  action  or  operation  of  himself 
upon  all  things,  but  especially  upon  angels  and  men. 
He  thus  worketh  in  us  what  is  well-pleasing  in  his 
sight,  and  makes  us  perfect,  etc.  (Heb.  xiii.  21),  but 
does  He  not  work  or  operate  in  us  and  "dwell  in 
us"  by  the  influence  and  operation  of  his  Spirit? 
This,  which  is  not  a  mere  inference  but  a  direct 


100  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

statement,  plainly  shows  us  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
not  a  Person  distinct  from  Jesus,  but  the  operation 
of  Jesus  himself  working  in  us  to  regenerate  and 
save  us. 

But  every  one  knows  that  where  an  action  or  op- 
eration is,  there  the  actor  or  operator  is  essentially 
present.  In  a  former  letter  my  opponent  said,  al- 
luding to  the  u  breathing  of  Jesus  upon  his  disci- 
ples," that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  a  mere  breath,  but 
a  personality.  If  we  look  physiologically  at  the 
breath,  we  shall  find  it  to  be  a  result  of  the  joint 
action  of  the  heart  and  lungs.  Thus  the  breath  is 
the  proximate  cause  of  all  living  action  in  the  body. 
A  man  could  not  move  a  limb  or  utter  a  word  if  he 
did  not  breathe.  Hence  we  see  how  appropriate 
the  terms  breath  and  breathing  are,  as  employed  in 
the  Scriptures,  to  signify  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
Psalmist  says  that  all  the  host  of  heaven  were  made 
by  the  breath  of  his  mouth.  (Ps.  xxiii.  6.)  This 
plainly  shows  us  that  the  breath  of  the  Lord  is  the 
same  as  his  Spirit. 

But  it  is  supposed  that  the  Holy  Spirit  must  be  a 
Person,  because,  at  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  it  was 
seen  "descending  like  a  dove."  But  a  dove  is  not 
a  person.  The  reason  why  a  dove  appeared  on  that 
occasion,  was  to  teach  us  that  that  bird  which  was 
offered  as  a  sacrifice  at  the  time  of  circumcision 
(Luke  ii.  24),  was  a  symbol  of  the  graces  of  .regen- 
eration denoted  by  baptism ;  for  circumcision  meant 
regeneration  and  purification,  and  signified  nearly 
the  same  as  baptism,  and  in  the  supreme  sense,  the 
divine  graces  of  glorification  which  the  Lord's  bap- 


THINGS  PERPOX-IFlEfl1.  ' v  '  101 

tism  involved.  It  is  again  argued  that  because  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  called  the  "Comforter,"  it  must,  there- 
fore, be  a  Person  ;  whereas,  nothing  is  more  common 
in  Scripture  than  to  personify  things  and  attributes. 
Thus  the  serpent  is  personified  as  being  gifted  with 
reason  and  speech  (Gen.  iii.  1)  ;  but  every  one  knows 
that  a  serpent  is  not  a  person.  Again,  the  blood  of 
Abel  is  said  to  have  "  a  voice  and  to  cry  out  "  (Gen. 
iv.  10) ;  thus  personal  attributes  are  ascribed  to 
blood,  but  blood  is  not  therefore  a  person.  These 
personifications  in  Scripture  are  innumerable,  and 
your  readers  will  at  once  have  many  occur  to  their 
remembrance.  The  Holy  Spirit  in  Greek  is  neuter, 
and  in  all  cases  it  should  in  the  common  version 
have  neuter  pronouns  applied  to  it ;  that  is,  it,  and 
not  he  and  him,  as  in  John  xiv.  17 ;  but  our  trans- 
lators have  also  in  this  case  erred,  obviously  from 
the  idea  of  conceiving  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  Per- 
son. It  is  true  that  the  term  c  c  Comforter ' '  is  mascu- 
line, and  of  course  has  masculine  pronouns  applied 
to  it.  But  this,  we  have  shown,  is  a  personification. 
The  Lord  calls  the  Holy  Spirit  both  the  "  Spirit  of 
Truth  "  and  the  "  Comforter  "  for  a  specific  reason: 
as  the  "  Spirit  of  Truth  "  it  teaches  and  illustrates, 
which  is  eminently  a  predicate  of  truth  ;  but  as  the 
"Comforter"  it  is  the  "Spirit  of  Love,"  for  it  is 
eminently  a  predicate  of  love  to  comfort  and  con- 
sole, especially  after  temptations  and  trials.  In 
both  cases  it  is  the  Lord  himself  who  teaches,  illus- 
trates and  comforts  us ;  but  this  He  does  by  the 
operation  of  his  Spirit. 

If  space  permitted  I  might  show  that  many  things 
9* 


102  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

said  of  the  Spirit  cannot  be  said  of  it  as  of  a  Person, 
but  as  of  a  life-giving  influence  from  the  Lord  ;  thus, 
when  the  Apostle  says,  u  We  have  all  been  made  to 
drink  into  one  Spirit  "  (1  Cor.  xii.  13),  it  is  evident 
that  we  cannot  drink  a  person,  but  we  may  be  said 
to  drink  or  imbibe  his  Spirit  in  the  sense  of  his  life- 
giving  influence.  Again,  we  may  by  disobedience 
and  sin  "quench  the  spirit"  (1  Thess.  v.  19),  but 
we  cannot  be  said  to  quench  a  person. 

But  upon  what  basis  does  C.  B.  found  the  idea  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  being  a  Person  ?  Upon  no  basis 
whatever.  It  is  nowhere  said  in  Scripture  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  a  Person.  Whence  then  (Joes  my  op- 
ponent get  his  idea  of  the  Spirit  as  a  Person  ?  From 
the  decisions  of  church  councils,  which,  as  demon- 
strated in  my  last  letter,  have  enacted  the  greatest 
absurdities,  even  the  adoration  of  images  and  relics ; 
and  to  maintain  these  absurdities  have  kindled  the 
cruel  fires  of  persecution,  and  sanctioned  the  tortures 
of  the  inquisition.  But  my  opponent  infers,  from 
certain  things  said  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  it  is  a 
person. 

Thus  he  says  : — 

"He,  the  Holy  Spirit  [it  should  not,  as  shown 
above,  be  He,  but  It],  has  proper  names,  is  invested 
with  personal  attributes,  has  ascribed  to  him  [it] 
personal  acts,  is  joined  to  the  Father  and  the  Son 
as  a  third  Person  [this  is  nowhere  stated  in  the 
Word],  and  makes  personal  appearances.  If  these 
(says  C.  B.)  do  not  imply  what  we  call  personality, 
language  must  be  a  mere  enigma." 

He  also  says :- 


AN  INFLUENCE  NOT  A   PERSON.          103 

"That  the  Holy  Spirit  loves,  grieves,  is  vexed, 
speaks,  acts,  gives  life,  bears  witness,  helps  our  in- 
firmities, which  (he  says)  are  all  personal  acts." 

From  these  predicates,  my  opponent  infers,  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  must  be  a  Person.  But  nothing  can 
be  more  fallacious  than  to  found  a  most  important 
doctrine  of  Scripture  upon  mere  inference,  and  not 
upon  direct  and  plain  statements  of  Scripture.  The 
theology  of  the  New-Church,  on  the  contrary,  founds 
its  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  direct  state- 
ment of  the  Gospel,  and  believes  that  it  is  the  life- 
giving  breath  or  Spirit  of  Jesus,  according  to  his  own 
declaration  in  John  xx.  2*2,  when  "  He  breathed  on 
his  disciples,  and  said,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit ;  " 
and  as  a  man,  when  regenerate, "is  an  u image  of 
God,"  so  he,  in  like  manner,  in  his  degree,  acts  by 
his  spirit  upon  men  and  objects  around  him.  Is  not 
his  operation  felt  and  known  wherever  he  speaks, 
acts,  and  moves  ?  But  is  his  operation  a  person 
separate  from  himself?  By  no  means.  It  is  most 
true  that  in  man's  case  his  operation  is  of  very 
limited  extent,  and  moreover  very  feeble  in  its 
efficacy.  But  in  the  Lord's  case  it  is  infinite  and 
omnipotent,  and  universal,  that  is,  everywhere  pres- 
ent, both  in  the  least  as  well  as  the  greatest  things, 
"  numbering  the  hairs  of  our  heads,"  as  well  as  con- 
ducting the  planets  and  sidereal  systems  in  their 
orbits. 

But  my  opponent  infers  that  the  Spirit  is  a  Person, 
because  "personal  acts  and  attributes  are  ascribed 
to  it."  In  Hebrew  there  are  only  two  genders: 
everything,  as  in  French,  Italian,  and  in  some  other 


104  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

languages,  is  either  male  or  female.  But  are  all 
things,  because  thus  designated,  persons?  and  be- 
cause personal  acts  and  the  personal  pronouns  he 
and  she,  etc.,  are  ascribed  to  them,  are  they  there- 
fore personal  agents  ?  Is  salt  a  person  because  it  is 
said  "  to  have  lost  his  savor"  V  (Matt.  v.  13.)  How 
fallacious,  therefore,  it  is  to  infer  that  a  thing  is  a 
person  because  it  has  personal  acts  and  personal 
pronouns  ascribed  to  it !  Nothing,  as  is  shown 
above,  is  more  common  in  Scripture  than  to  ascribe 
personal  acts  to  objects.  But  in  Greek  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  said  above,  is  neuter,  and  therefore  not  a 
Person.  It  is  true,  as  also  stated,  that  the  Com- 
forter or  Paraclete  is  masculine,  but  it  is  distinctly 
declared  that  the  Lord  himself  is  the  Paraclete  (1 
John  ii.  1) ;  in  the  common  version  the  term  para- 
•cleton  is  here  rendered  advocate,  but  it  should  be 
rendered  the  same  as  in  the  Gospel — Comforter. 
Here,  then,  the  Lord  is  again  identified  with  the 
Spirit ;  for  He  is  expressly  called  the  Paraclete, 
which  plainly  shows  that  the  Comforter,  or  the 
Holy  Spirit,  is  not  a  distinct  and  separate  Person 
from  himself.  The  Lord  is  said  "  to  baptize  with 
the  Holy  Spirit."  To  baptize  is  to  regenerate  us, 
and  this  He  does  by  his  operation  upon  us  and 
within  us  ;  He  consequently  does  it  by  his  own  life- 
giving  action  on  our  souls,  and  not  by  a  person 
separate  and  distinct  from  himself. 

I  am,  yours,  etc.  A.  V. 


LETTER  VII. 
THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT. 

IR  : — In  the  last  letter  of  my  learned  oppo- 
nent there  are  only  two  or  three  points  which 
call,  by  way  of  rejoinder,  for  any  remark. 
My  friend  says,  "  that  no  statement  of  mine  has 
so  shocked  him  as  that  the  Holy  Spirit  (especially 
alluded  to  in  the  New  Testament  as  coming  from 
Jesus,  and  as  distinguished  from  the  Spirit  of  God 
mentioned  in  the  Old)  did  not  exist  prior  to  the 
glorification  of  Jesus  ;  and  he  hopes  that  I  shall 
carefully  and  prayerfully  reconsider  it."  Now  I 
beg  my  opponent  and  your  intelligent  readers  to 
bear  in  mind,  that  the  statement  in  question  is  not 
mine,  but  that  it  is  declared  by  John  that  "the 
Holy  Spirit  was  not  yet,  because  that  Jesus  was  not 
yet  glorified."  (Chap.  vii.  39.)  I  will  only  refer 
your  readers  to  my  last  letter  for  an  explanation 
of  this  divine  declaration. 

In  reference  to  the  prayer  of  the  Apostle  that  the 
Ephesians  "  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of 
God,"  my  opponent  observes  that,  according  to  my 
explanation,  "  the  Apostle  prayed  that  the  church 
might  be  filled  with  what  it  could  not  be  filled  with. " 
In  reply  to  this  I  will  only  state,  that  the  Lord  com- 
mands us  to  be  "  perfect,  even  as  our  Father,  which 
is  in  heaven,  is  perfect "  (Matt.  v.  48) ;  and  "  to  be 
holy,  even  as  He  is  holy."  But  this  we  can  never 

105 


106  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

become,  because  He  is  infinitely  perfect  and  holy. 
Nevertheless,  we  are  to  strive  after  perfection  and 
holiness ;  in  like  manner  we  are  to  strive  "  to  receive 
this  fulness  of  God,"  without  ever  being  able  to  re- 
ceive all  the  fulness  of  God. 

To  your  readers  in  general  permit  me  to  state  two 
tests  by  which  to  judge  whether  a  system  of  doctrine 
be  truly  Christian  and  Evangelical  or  not.  The  first 
is,  that  that  system  which  has  most  of  Christ  in  it, 
in  which  He  is  the  centre  and  the  sun,  and  the  all 
in  all,  is  most  likely  to  be  the  truly  Christian  system. 
The  second  test  is,  that  that  system  which  has  most 
of  the  Gospel  in  it,  and  which  is  most  imbued  with 
its  spirit  and  its  life,  is  most  truly  Evangelical,  and 
most  deserving  of  the  name.  Let  the  system  of 
Christian  doctrine  advocated  and  taught  in  the 
Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  be  judged  of  accord- 
ing to  these  tests,  and  we  do  not  fear  the  result. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  is  one  of  the  vital 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  There  can  be  no  true 
understanding  of  Christianity  without  it.  Its  prac- 
tical tendency,  also,  when  properly  understood,  is 
most  essentially  conducive  to  regeneration  and  sal- 
vation. I  therefore  solicit  the  attention  of  your 
readers  to  the  following  statements,  which  involve 
and  explain,  as  far  as  space  will  admit,  the  doctrines 
of  the  New  Church  on  this  subject. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  is  delivered  by 
the  Apostle,  as  all  Christians  admit,  in  the  follow- 
ing declaration  : — UA11  things  are  of  God,  who  hath 
reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath 
given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation ;  to  wit, 


RECONCILIATION   OR   AT-ONE-MENT.       107 

that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them, 
and  hath  committed  unto  us  the  word  of  reconcilia- 
tion." (2  Cor.  v.  18, 19.)  The  term  Atonement  is,  in 
the  original,  the  same  as  reconciliation,  and  means 
agreement,  the  being  at-one,  likewise  concord  and 
harmony.  The  Lord  also  requires  atonement  or 
reconciliation  as  the  first  requisite  of  all  worship  ; 
thus  He  says,  u  First  be  reconciled  (atoned)  to  thy 
brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift."  (Matt. 
v.  24.)  There  can  be  no  true  and  acceptable  wor- 
ship which  does  not  spring  from  atonement  or  rec- 
onciliation. 

But  love  is  evidently  the  source  of  all  reconcilia- 
tion. u  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,"  etc.  It  was,  therefore,  from 
infinite  love  that  u  God  was  in  Christ  atoning  or 
reconciling  the  world  unto  himself."  Thus  the  en- 
tire Gospel,  in  its  practical  tendency,  is  the  ministry 
of  reconciliation  or  atonement,  that  man  may  be 
at-one  with  God,  and  also  at-one  with  his  fellow-man. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  Katallage  or  atone- 
ment. 

The  necessity  of  the  atonement  is  also  clearly  shown 
by  the  same  Apostle;  ufor  (says  he)  if,  when  we 
were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  we 
shall  be  saved  by  his  life  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  we 
also  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by 
whom  we  have  received  the  atonement."  (Rom.  v.  10, 
11.)  Owing  to  the  fall,  mankind  had  become  ene- 
mies to  God  by  being,  as  to  their  nature,  alienated 


108  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

from  Him,  and  this  more  and  more  until  the  Lord 
came  into  the  world  to  redeem  man,  and  to  effect 
the  atonement.  The  Apostle  gives  in  Rom.  i.  21-32 
a  dreadful  account  of  this  enmity  to  God. 

The  Being  who  accomplished  this  atonement  was 
u  God  himself  in  Christ,"  not  a  supposed  second 
person  of  the  Godhead,  hut  God  himself  as  declared 
by  the  Apostle.  •  It  is  also  universally  declared  in 
the  Prophets  that  Jehovah  is  our  Redeemer  and  our 
Saviour,  and  that,  "  beside  Him  there  is  no  Saviour. " 
The  passages  which  declare  this  are  too  numerous 
to  quote  here.*  "  The  child  born  and  the  son  given  " 
is  called  "the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father, 
also  Emmanuel,  God  with  us."  This  Jehovah,  or 
God  in  Christ,  was  our  Saviour,  and  He  reconciled 
the  world  unto  himself,  or  effected  the  atonement. 
It  was  Jehovah  before  whom  the  Baptist,  "as  a 
voice  crying  in  the  wilderness,"  prepared  the  way 
(Luke  iii.  4) ;  but  it  was  Jesus  before  whom,  as  all 
believe,  John  prepared  the  way  ;  consequently  Je- 
hovah and  Jesu^  are  one  and  the  same  divine  Per- 
son. Those,  therefore,  who  think  that  it  was  a 
second  Person  in  the  Godhead,  and  not  the  one 
Jehovah  himself,  who  became  the  Redeemer,  do  not 
think  in  agreement  with  the  Gospel,  and  are  not, 
according  to  the  tests  stated  above,  truly  Evangel- 
ical. 

Having  seen  the  meaning  of  atonement,  its  neces- 
sity, and  also  the  Divine  Being,  or  "  God  in  Christ," 
by  whom  it  was  effected,  we  will  now  proceed  to 

*  See  above,  p.  55. 


"LADEN    WITH   OUR   INIQUITIES."         109 

show  by  what  means  it  was  accomplished.  uGod 
manifest  in  the  flesh  "  is  a  fact  which  teaches  us 
that  God  took  upon  himself  our  nature  by  being 
born  into  the  world,  of  the  virgin  Mary,  in  the  Per- 
son of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  great  means  of  redemp- 
tion and  atonement.  Whilst,  however,  we  see  that 
the  human  nature  thus  assumed  from  the  Virgin 
was  in  all  things  "like  unto  that  of  his  brethren," 
yet  we  beg  your  readers  to  remember  that,  as  to  his 
soul  or  "  inward  man  "  being  conceived  of  Jehovah, 
He  was,  as  shown  in  my  former  letters,  infinitely  to 
be  distinguished  from  all  other  men  who  had  merely 
human  fathers.*  The  nature  thus  "born  of  a 
woman  "  was,  according  to  the  Apostle,  "the  like- 
ness of  sinful  flesh  "  (Rom.  viii.  3),  that  is,  born  with 
infirmity,  frailty,  and  with  tendencies  to  evil ;  yet 
"  no  man  could  convince  Him  of  sin  "  (John  vii.  46), 
neither  "was  guile  found  in  his  mouth."  In  this 
nature  thus  assumed  "He  was  laden  with  our  in- 
iquities, ''  He  "  bore  our  sicknesses  and  infirmities," 
for  "how  can  a  man  be  clean  that  is  born  of  a 
woman"?  (Job  xxv.  4.)  "For  verily,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "He  took  not  on  himself  the  nature  of 
angets  [that  is,  a  pure  or  regenerated  humanity, 
such  as  angels  have] ,  but  He  took  on  Him  the  seed 
of  Abraham  [that  is,  a  fallen  or  infirm  humanity], 
that  in  all  things  He  might  be  made  like  unto  his 
brethren,"  etc.  (Heb.  ii.  16, 17.)  Again  :  "  For  He 
hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin,  that 
we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him." 

*  See  above,  p.  85. 
10 


110  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

(2  Cor.  vi.  21.)  Here  we  entreat  the  reader  to  mark 
the  difference  so  clearly  pointed  out  in  this  passage 
by  the  Apostle,  between  evil  and  sin.  Evil,  or  rather 
tendencies  to  evil,  are  inherited  from  our  parents  and 
ancestors,  and  are  the  lot  of  every  man.  Jesus,  as 
being  born  of  a  woman,  was  not  exempted  from  this 
lot.  He  by  inheritance  was  made  "  sin  [in  the  sense 
of  hereditary  evil]  for  us ; "  but,  unlike  all  other 
men,  "  He  knew  no  sin  ;  "  that  is,  did  not  suffer  his 
hereditary  evil  to  become  actual  sin.  I  am  aware  that 
some  commentators  render  the  term  sin,  amtirtia,  in 
the  first  clause,  sin-offering  ;  but  this  is  not  its  mean- 
ing. A  man  commits  sin  when,  as  James  says,  "  he 
is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust  and  enticed,"  etc. 
But  Jesus  was  never  drawn  away  and  enticed,  and, 
therefore,  never  committed  sin. 

The  reason  why  the  Lord  assumed  our  infirm 
nature  was  that  He  might  bring  himself  into  con- 
tact with  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  thus,  by  re- 
peated temptations  from  the  manger  to  the  cross, 
conquer  and  subdue  them,  and  so  accomplish  re- 
demption, or  "  deliver  us  from  the  hand  of  our  ene- 
mies," and  "thus  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil." 
For  had  He  not  assumed  our  infirm  nature,  tliat  is, 
a  nature  subject  to  temptation,  "  He  could  not  have 
been  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are  ; "  for  in 
"that  He  himself  hath  suffered,  being  tempted,  He 
is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted."  (Heb. 
ii.  18. )  The  enmity  first  to  be  destroyed  in  effecting 
the  atonement,  was  in  his  own  flesh  (Ephesians  ii. 
15, 16) ;  or  "  in  himself,"  (Marginal  reading.)  "  For 
He  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body,"  and  "  made  peace 


THE  LEV1TICAL  SACRIFICES.  Ill 

or  reconciliation  through  the  hlood  of  his  cross." 
(Col.  i.  20.)  Having  thus  "abolished  the  enmity  in 
his  flesh,"  He  effected  a  reconciliation  or  an  atone- 
ment between  the  human  nature  He  assumed  and 
God,  or  the  Divine  Nature  within  Him.  The  human 
and  the  divine  natures  in  Him  became,  by  glorifica- 
tion, which  is  involved  in  reconciliation,  AT-ONE,  as 
He  himself  says,  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one. "  This 
is  the  Atonement.  This  great  Atonement  was  rep- 
resented by  all  the  sacrifices  and  burnt-offerings  in 
the  Jewish  Church  ;  for  they  all  pointed  in  the  su- 
preme sense  to  this  work  of  redemption,  and  in  a 
subordinate  sense  they  were  t}rpes  of  the  regenera- 
tion or  salvation  of  man.  But  especially  did  the 
sacrifice  of  the  lamb,  morning  and  evening,  and  also 
of  the  pascal  lamb,  typify  this  great  sacrifice  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  "  as  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world." 

A  proper  view  of  the  institution  and  meaning  of 
the  Levitical  sacrifices  teaches  us  that  thereby  was 
not  meant  that  the  sufferings  due  to  the  worshipper 
should  be  transferred  to  the  victim,  slain  and  offered 
up,  but  that  the  victim,  whether  a  lamb,  a  sheep, 
or  a  goat,  etc.,  should  represent,  or  be  a  type  of  the 
affections  of  charity  and  love,  which  are  the  essential 
elements  of  all  true  worship.  The  sacrifices  were 
said  ato  be  holy  unto  the  Lord  ;"  and  in  relation 
to  Jesus  Christ  they  signified,  as  the  term  sacrifice 
means,  the  sanctification  or  the  making  holy  of  every 
principle  of  the  humanity  He  assumed  to  the  Divine 
Nature  within  Him.  Hence  He  says,  "For  their 
sakes  I  sanctify  myself,  that  they  also  might  be 


112  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

sanctified  through  the  truth  "  (John  xvii.  19),  show- 
ing us  that  his  sanctification  is  the  cause  of  our 
sanctincation.  When,  therefore,  He  had  sanctified 
his  humanity  "by  abolishing  the  enmity  in  his 
flesh, "  He  not  only  accomplished  the  work  of  atone- 
ment "  in  himself,"  but  He  prepared  the  means  and 
opened  the  way,  "  a  new  and  living  way,  that  is  to 
say,  his  flesh  "  (Heb.  x.  20),  or  glorified  Humanity, 
by  which  atonement  or  reconciliation  with  Him  can 
be  effected  in  all  others  who  will  come  unto  Him, 
"and  obey  Him  as  the  author  of  their  salvation." 
That  the  Lord,  "as  the  captain  of  our  salvation, 
became  perfect  through  suffering,"  is  declared  by 
the  Apostle.  (Heb.  ii.  10.)  But  this  could  not  have 
been  said  of  Him  if  the  human  nature  He  assumed 
from  the  mother  had  been  already  perfect.  The 
"sufferings  by  which  He  became  perfect  "  are  de- 
noted in  other  parts  of  Scripture  by  "  his  blood,"  as 
in  Gethsemane  and  on  the  cross.  "  Truly,  then,  are 
we  saved  by  his  blood,"  meaning  his  sufferings  and 
death,  by  which  He  accomplished  the  atonement. 
Hence  it  is  that  "we  have  redemption  through  his 
Uood."  (Eph.  i.  7 ;  Col.  i.  14.), 

By  his  sufferings,  however,  we  do  not  understand 
his  agony  on  the  cross  only,  but  his  daily  labor  and 
suffering  from  the  manger  to  the  cross.  As  He  re- 
quires us  to  bear  our  cross  daily,  so  He,  as  our 
divine  example,  bore  his  cross  daily,  that  is,  daily 
submitted  himself  to  those  states  of  temptation 
by  which  our  redemption  was  effected.  His  last 
and  most  grievous  temptation,  by  which  redemption 
and  atonement  were  accomplished,  was  that  of  the 


PRACTICAL    TENDENCY  OF   THIS  VIEW.    113 

cross ;  but  it  is  a  great  error  to  suppose  that  this 
was  the  only  temptation  'or  suffering  by  which  re- 
demption was  wrought. 

To  sum  up :  We  have  discussed  in  this  brief  space, 
not  so  fully  as  I  could  have  wished,  the  important 
doctrine  of  the  Atonement :  1,  its  meaning ;  2,  its 
necessity  for  the  salvation  of  man ;  3,  the  Divine 
Being  who  effected  it ;  4,  the  reason  why  He  assumed 
our  nature ;  and,  5,  the  process  by  which  He  accom- 
plished it— namely,  u  first,  by  abolishing  the  enmity 
in  his  flesh  or  in  himself,"  and  thus  preparing  the 
way  by  glorifying  himself  and  supplying  the  means 
of  abolishing  this  "  enmity  against  God,"  in  all  who 
will  but  come  unto  Him  in  faith  and  love,  and  "obey 
Him  as  the  author  of  their  salvation." 

The  beautiful  and  most  practical  tendency  of  this 
view  of  atonement  is  evident.  We  learn  from  it 
that  all  the  power  uby  which  we  can  work  out  our 
own  salvation  "  (Phil.  ii.  12),  that  is,  become  recon- 
ciled or  atoned  to  God,  is  from  the  great  Atonement 
which  the  Lord  accomplished.  Truly,  then,  we 
must  say  that  "  without  Him  we  can  do  nothing." 
(John  xv.  5.)  It  is  also  by  that  power  of  redeeming 
or  atoning  love  that  we  can  be  truly  reconciled  with 
one  another.  For  man  by  nature  is  not  only  at  en- 
mity with  God,  but  he  is  also  at  enmity  with  his 
fellow-men,  and  he  requires  to  be  reconciled  to  both. 
It  is  by  this  power  that  we  can  "follow  the  Lord  in 
the  regeneration ;"  can  "  continue  with  Him  in  his 
temptations  ;  "  can  "  overcome  as  He  overcame  ;  " 
can  "walk  after  the  spirit  in  newness  of  life,  and 
resist  and  overcome  the  works  of  the  flesh,"  etc. 
10*  H 


114  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

But  what  is  the  doctrine  called  orthodoxy,  which 
my  learned  opponent  will  have  to  defend  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  view  of  the  atonement  here  given  ?  I 
know  the  ground  upon  which  he  stands.  But  we 
will  state  his  view  of  the  subject  from  the  authentic 
source  against  which,  I  presume,  he  cannot  object. 
This  source  is  the  second  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles 
of  the  Church  of  England  ;  in  which  we  read,  that 

u  The  Son  took  man's  nature  in  the  womb  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  that  He  truly  suffered,  was  cru- 
cified, dead  and  buried,  to  reconcile  his  Father  to  us, 
and  to  be  a  sacrifice,  not  only  for  original  guilt,  but 
also  for  actual  sins  of  men." 

This  article,  contrary  to  the  declaration  of  the 
Apostle,  and  to  the  view  stated  above,  affirms  u  that 
the  Father,  by  the  sacrifice  of  the-Son,  was  reconciled 
to  man ;  "  and  not  as  the  Apostle  affirms,  "the  world 
or  mankind  was  reconciled  to  the  Father."  The  ar- 
ticle also  implies  that  u  the  Father  received  the 
atonement ;  "  whereas  the  Apostle,  in  opposition  to 
this  statement,  affirms  that  mankind,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  received  the  atonement  or  recon- 
ciliation (Rom.  v.  10,  11).  This  doctrine  also  im- 
plies two  Divine  Persons,  who,  although  declared  in 
the  creed  to  be  in  all  respects  co-equal,  and  of  the 
same  nature,  yet  one  is  supposed  to  be  full  of  anger 
and  vindictive  justice  which  can  only  be  appeased 
and  satisfied  by  the  sufferings  and  blood  of  the  other 
as  an  innocent  victim  !  This  orthodoxy,  through 
Dr.  Watts,  sings  in  public  worship  as  follows  : — 


TENDENCY   OF   THE  POPULAR   DOCTRINE.  115 

"  Rich  were  the  drops  of  Jesu's  blood 

That  calmed  his  frowning  face, 
That  sprinkled  o'er  the  burning  throne, 
And  turned  the  wrath  to  grace." 

Here  it  is  taught  that  the  Unchangeable  turns  or 
changes  from  wrath  to  grace.  It  is  true  that  the 
Scriptures  ascribe  anger  to  God ;  because,  to  the 
wicked,  when  they  suffer  the  consequences  of  their 
wickedness,  they  erroneously  think  that  God  is  angry, 
and  that  He  is  ua  consuming  fire."  But  God  does 
not  and  cannot  appear  to  the  wicked  as  He  really 
is,  but  He  appears  according  to  [that  is,  in  corre- 
spondence with]  their  states ;  hence  it  is  said,  uTo 
the  merciful  thouwilt  show  thyself  merciful,  and  to 
the  f roward  thou  wilt  show  thy  self  froward. "  There 
can  be  no  anger  and  vengeance,  which  are  evil  pas- 
sions, in  God.  "  Fury  is  not  in  me,  saith  the  Lord." 
(Isaiah  xxvii.  4.) 

But  what  is  the  practical  tendency  of  the  prevail- 
ing doctrine  of  the  Atonement  ?  A  man's  own  na- 
ture and  character  are  necessarily  influenced  by  the 
ideas  which  he  has  of  God.  If  he  can  ascribe,  as  by 
the  prevailing  doctrine  of  the  vicarious  Atonement 
he  can,  wrath  and  vindictive  justice  to  his  Maker, 
he  will  think  it  no  sin  to  cherish  such  qualities  in 
himself.  Such  is  the  practical  tendency  of  this  doc- 
trine as  it  now  prevails.  May  not  the  vindictive 
spirit  with  which  Christians  of  various  sects  have 
often  persecuted  'one  another  be  ascribed  to  this 
cause  ?  But  it  will  not  be  so  in  the  Church  of  the 
New  Jerusalem. 

I  entreat  your  readers  to  compare  these  two  doc- 


116  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

trinal  views  of  the  Atonement  together.  Let  them 
look  first  on  this  picture,  and  then  on  that ;  and  they 
will  see,  after  a  little  reflection,  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  New  Church  on  this  important  subject  is  most 
Scriptural  and  rational,  and  worthy  of  all  accepta- 
tion. Whereas,  seeing  that  the  orthodox  doctrine 
as  expressed  above  from  its  authentic  sources,  is  so 
contrary  to  Scripture,  and  so  revolting  to  every  moral 
sense  and  perception  implanted  by  the  Creator  in 
the  human  mind,  we  need  not  wonder  that  such 
men  as  Mr.  Jowett,  of  Oxford,  and  other  enlightened 
theologians,  have  risen  up  against  it,  as  not  express- 
ing the  wisdom  of  God  revealed  in  his  Word.  My 
learned  opponent,  in  considering  the  points  and 
positions  here  maintained,  will  bear  in  mind  that 
no  declaratory  assertion  will  be  permitted  to  pass 
in  the  stead  of  Scriptural  and  rational  proof. 

In  my  next  I  shall  speak  of  the  "Justification  of 
the  Sinner  before  God."    Apologizing  for  a  little 
extra  space  on  this  new  subject  in  the  discussion, 
I  am  yours,  etc., 

A.V. 


LETTER  VIII. 

RECONCILIATION,  SACRIFICE  AND  JUSTIFI- 
CATION. 

: — I  have  read  my  opponent's  last  letter. 
I  regret  that,  on  account  of  foreign  travel, 
he  is  compelled  to  withdraw  from  the  con- 
troversy. I  hope  that  some  other,  of  a  similar 
Christian  spirit,  will  step  into  the  arena  and  occupy 
his  place.  Truth  will  not  suffer  by  these  friendly 
discussions ;  and,  therefore,  I  hope  they  will  be  con- 
tinued ;  especially  as  I  have  much  that  is  new  to 
offer  on  every  subject  of  Theology,  to  the  candid 
and  reflecting  of  all  denominations.  Who  is  there 
amongst  us  that  does  not  wish  to  have  brighter 
views  and  perceptions,  and  a  more  rational  as  well 
as  a  more  spiritual  and  Scriptural  discernment  of 
the  great  truths  and  facts  of  revelation?  This  is 
the  way  to  improvement,  and  this  is  the  only  means 
by  which  the  rampant  rationalism  which  now  so 
much  prevails  in  theology,  can  be  met  and  over- 
thrown. 

My  last  letter  was  on  the  Atonement.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  ^"ew  Church  on  this  important  subject 
was  stated  under  the  following  heads  :— 1.  Its  mean- 
ing and  object.  2.  Its  necessity  for  the  salvation  of 
mankind.  3.  The  Divine  Being,  or  u  God  in  Christ," 
who  effected  it.  4.  The  nature  of  the  medium  or 
Humanity  He  assumed  for  the  purpose.  5.  The  proc- 

117 


118  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

ess  by  which  He  effected  it ;  and,  lastly,  its  practical 
tendency  in  the  regeneration  and  salvation  of  man. 

In  opposition  to  the  doctrine  advanced,  was  placed 
the  common  doctrine  of  a  vicarious  substitution,  rec- 
onciling, as  the  orthodox  article  (the  second  of  the 
Thirty-nine)  says,  "  the  Father  to  the  world  or  man- 
kind ;  "  and  not  as  the  Apostle  says,  u  Reconciling 
the  world  to  himself."  My  opponent  has  not  un- 
dertaken to  defend  the  common  doctrine  called  or- 
thodox, against  my  statements  and  arguments,  and 
therefore  I  conclude  that  as,  according  to  his  own 
statement  in  one  of  his  letters,  u  he  would  not  de- 
fend and  justify  the  Athanasian  Creed  " — the  bul- 
wark of  orthodoxy  as  to  the  idea  of  God,  so  he  will 
not  defend  and  justify  the  prevailing  doctrine  of  the 
vicarious  atonement. 

The  only  points  of  any  importance  in  my  oppo- 
nent's reply  which  require  consideration  are  the 
terms  satisfaction  and  substitution,  as  involved  in  his 
idea  of  the  Atonement.  Now,  as  to  satisfaction  this 
is  fully  involved  in  the  idea  of  reconciliation,  which, 
as  C.  B.  admits,  is  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word 
atonement.  For  when  two  parties  who  have  been  at 
enmity,  have  become  reconciled  by  putting  away  the 
ground  and  causes  of  the  enmity,  there  is  then  the 
most  ample  satisfaction  experienced  by  both,  and 
they  mutually  love  one  another,  and  manifest  their 
satisfaction  by  their  joy  and  gladness.  But  this,  I 
am  aware,  is  not  my  opponent's  idea  of  satisfaction 
in  respect  to  the  atonement.  He  thinks  of  a  satis- 
faction rendered  to  the  supposed  vindictive  justice  of 
God,  by  the  sufferings  and  death  of  an  innocent  vie- 


THE   PRODIGAL   SON'S  RETURN.  119 

tim.     But  this  idea  has  neither  Scripture  nor  reason 
to  rest  upon  ;  and,  therefore, 'is  utterly  groundless. 

Thus,  when  the  Prodigal  in  the  parable  which  de- 
scribes the  conversion  of  the  sinner  and  his  recon- 
ciliation with  God,  resolved  to  return  to  his  father's 
house,  the  only  condition  was  that  of  deep  humilia- 
tion, and  of  sincere  repentance.  The  father  seeing 
this,  uran  to  meet  him  and  fell  on  hi*  neck  and 
kissed  him."  Here  no  "  vicarious  substitute  "  was 
required,  at  the  sight  of  whose  sufferings  and  blood 
the  father's  wrath  was  appeased,  and  his  "  vindic- 
tive justice  "  satisfied  ;  but  when  the  Prodigal,  by 
repentance,  put  away,  through  God's  grace  and 
power,  the  evil  and  enmity  which  separated  him 
from  his  father,  reconciliation  ensued,  and  perfect 
satisfaction  was  the  result.  This  satisfaction  was 
denoted  by  the  rejoicing,  the  "  feasting,  music,  and 
dancing,"  which  followed.  Now,  no  one  can  deny 
that  this  Parable  is  truly  Evangelical,  and  that  it 
truly  describes  the  manner  in  which  the  sinner  is 
converted  to  God,  and  the  consequent  reconciliation 
and  satisfaction  which  are  the  result. 

It  must,  however,  be  well  understood,  as  explained 
in  my  last  letter,  that  no  sinner  could  possibly  return 
to  his  Father's  house,  or  be  reconciled  to  his  God, 
unless  the  great  Atonement,  or  Reconciliation  be- 
tween the  divine  and  human  Natures  in  the  Person 
of  Jesus  Christ,  had  been  accomplished.  This  is 
truly  not  only  the  great  cause  of  all  reconciliation 
between  God  and  mankind,  but  the  only  source  of 
satisfaction  and  peace.  It  is  an  enormous  error  to 
suppose  that  there  was  any  "  vindictive  justice,"  as 


120  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

it  is  called,  in  God,  which  required  satisfaction. 
There  is  no  such  attribute  in  God.  In  "his  love 
and  pity  He  redeemed  us."  God  was  not  an^ry 
with  mankind,  for  "  He  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,"  etc.  It  is  most  true 
that  "  Christ  suffered  for  us,  the  just  for  the  unjust," 
in  order  to  prepare  the  way,  "  the  new  and  living 
way,  his  flesh"  (Heb.  x.  20)  or  his  Divine  Hu- 
manity, by  which  we  can  have  access  to  the  "  holy 
of  holies,"  which  signified  the  Divine  Nature  itself, 
or  the  Father  within  Him. 

But  his  sufferings  were  not  penal,  that  is,  they 
were  not  endured  by  Him  in  the  sense  of  punish- 
ment ;  but  they  were  purificatory,  that  is,  were  en- 
dured as  the  means  of  purifying,  sanctifying,  and 
glorifying  the  humanity  He  had  assumed  for  the 
purpose  of  redemption.  This  is  declared  both  by 
the  Lord  and  by  the  Apostle,  and  therefore  admits 
of  no  doubt.  Hence  the  Lord  says,  "  for  their  sakes 
I  sanctify  myself,"  etc.  ;  and  the  Apostle  says,  "  the 
Captain  of  our  Salvation  was  made  perfect  through 
sufferings."  (Heb.  ii.  10.)  This  shows  us  plainly 
that  his  sufferings  are  not  to  be  understood  in  the 
sense  of  punishment,  but  as  the  means  of  being 
"macZe  perfect,"  that  is,  of  glorifying  his  humanity. 
The  "  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  Him,  and 
by  his  stripes  are  we  healed."  But  this  chastise- 
ment and  these  stripes  He  submitted  to  as  the  means 
of  his  glorification,  or  of  his  being  "made  perfect," 
and  not  as  a  "vicarious  substitute  ;  "  for  we  have 
"to  follow  Him  in  the  regeneration,"  we  have  "to 
be  partakers  of  his  sufferings  "  (1  Peter  iv.  13),  and 


WHAT  SACRIFICE  INVOLVES.  121 

"  we  have  to  overcome  as  He  overcame. "  The  i  ^a, 
then,  of  a  substitution  is  by  no  means  Script  il, 
nor  is  it  rational.  For  when  Moses  wished  to  be  a 
substitute,  and  to  be  blotted  out  in  the  stead  of 
the  people,  the  Lord  said,  u  Whosoever  hath  sin- 
ned against  me,  him  will  I  blot  out  of  my  book." 
(Exodus  xxxii.  32,  33.)  Again,  the  Prophet  says, 
"  The  son  shall  not  bear  (or  be  a  substitute  for)  the 
iniquity  of  the  father,  neither  shall  the  father  bear 
the  iniquity  of  the  son."  (Ezek.  xviii.  20.) 

A  sacrifice,  then,  does  not  involve,  as  my  opponent 
supposes,  the  idea  of  a  substitute;  but  the  term  im- 
plies, as  its  etymology  plainly  indicates,  the  makiwj 
holy  of  every  principle  in  the  humanity  assumed 
from  the  Virgin,  and  sacrificing  or  consecrating  it 
to  the  Father  or  Divinity  within  Him.  In  this  sense 
Christ  was  truly  a  sacrifice  for  us  or  for  our  sakcs, 
"that  we  might  become  living  sacrifices,  holy  and 
acceptable  unto  God. "  (Rom.  xii.  1.)  That  He  sacri- 
ficed, or  sanctified  the  human  nature  He  assumed,  is 
clearly  involved  in  what  the  Apostle  declares,  when 
he  says  "  that  He  abolished  in  his  flesh  the  enmity," 
etc.,  and  "that  He  became  perfect  through  suffer- 
ing," and  also  that  He  sanctified  himself.  (John  xvii. 
1(J.)  This  may  be  a  new  idea  to  my  opponent,  but 
as  it  is  declared  by  the  Apostle,  I  am  surprised  that 
my  learned  friend  should  say  u  that  it  is  too  ajbsurd 
for  refutation. "  He  should  ponder  before  he  makes 
such  an  assertion  in  the  face  of  the  Lord  and  the 
Apostle. 

Now,  then,  we  come  to  the  true  doctrine  of  the 
justification  of  the  sinner  before  God.  Whether  we 
11 


122  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

say  justification  or  righteousness,  it  is  the  same 
thing,  and  in  Greek  is  expressed  by  the  same  terms, 
or  by  terms  from  the  same  root.  u  Christ,"  says 
the  Apostle,  "was  raised  again  for  our  justification." 
(Rom.  iv.  25.)  Again,  "  He  hath  made  Him  (Christ) 
to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him. "  (2  Cor.  v.  21.) 

This,  then,  is  the  only  ground  of  our  justification, 
and  the  only  source  of  our  righteousness.  By  the 
redemption  and  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  by 
the  consequent  glorification  of  his  Humanity — u  the 
new  and  living  way,"  He  is  the  only  source  of  our 
justification  and  righteousness.  This  is  the  firm 
faith  of  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  In  our 
unregenerate  and  natural  state  we  are  all  sinners 
before  Him,  nor  can  we  be  saved  but  by  being  jus- 
tified, that  is,  made  just,  holy  and  righteous  by 
Him. 

But  how  does  a  man  become  just  and  righteous 
before  God  ?  We  answer  that  every  dispensation 
of  religion  from  Adam  to  the  present  period  was  for 
the  purpose  of  making  man  just  and  righteous  be- 
fore God.  Thus  Adam  in  his  state  of  integrity  was 
just  and  righteous.  "Noah  was  a  just  man,  and 
perfect  before  God ;"  and  finally,  "the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect  in  heaven,"  are  there  be- 
cause they  have  been  made  just  and  righteous 
before  God.  This,  then,  is  the  great  object  of  all 
religion  to  accomplish.  And  this,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  the  chief  reason  why  "  God  was  manifest  in  the 
flesh,"  to  accomplish  redemption  and  atonement, 
without  which  no  man  could  have  been  saved,  that 


RIGHTEOUSNESS  NOT  IMPUTED.  123 

is,  made  just  and  righteous  before  Him.  u  Truly 
then  are  we  justified  freely  by  his  grace,  through 
the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 

But  in  order  to  be  justified  and  righteous  !>• 
God,  we  must  receive  his  justice  and  righteous 
or,  as  the  Apostle  says,  u  we  must  become  partakers 
of  the  Divine  Nature."  Now  we  partake  of  his  jus- 
tice and  righteousness  by  faith  in  Him,  "and  by 
doing  justly,  by  loving  mercy,  and  by  walking  hum- 
bly with  our  God."  This  justice  and  righteousness 
is  not  imputed  to  us  until  by  faith  it  is  received  and 
incorporated  in  us  as  a  principle  of  life.  "  He  that 
doeth  justice  (or  righteousness)  is  just,  even  as  He 
is  just."  (John  iii.  7.)  To  do  justice,  therefore, 
through  faith  in  Him  from  whom  all  justice  comes, 
is,  in  our  belief,  the  only  way  of  being  justified  be- 
fore God. 

One  of  the  evil  consequences  of  the  fall  was  this : 
that  man  ceased  to  act  justly,  or  to  do  justice  from 
God,  and  began  to  do  justice  from  himself,  and  to 
clothe  himself  with  his  own  righteousness.  P>y 
ceasing  "to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his 
righteousness  (or  justice)  "  through  loving  his  God 
above  all  things,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself,  ho  be- 
gan to  seek  righteousness  in  merely  external  forms 
of  worship,  and  from  merely  external  motive  s  of 
conduct  originating  in  the  love  of  self  and  of  the 
world.  Hence  in  the  Jewish  Church  the  Jew  be- 
lieved that,  if  he  sanctimoniously  performed  all  the 
external  rituals  of  the  Mosaic  law,  he  was  justified 
in  the  sight  of  God,  forgetting  u  that  God  looketh 
not  on  the  outward  appearance,  but  on  the  heart." 


124  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

This  was  a  great  delusion.  For  the  merely  external 
observance  of  those  ritual  laws  could  not  justify  a 
man  before  God.  Hence  the  Lord  says  to  his  disci- . 
pies  and  to  his  church,  "  Except  your  righteousness 
(or  justice)  shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Hence  also  the  Apostle 
says,  ''Therefore  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no 
flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight "  (Horn.  iii.  20) ;  and 
again,  u  Therefore  we  conclude  that  a  man  is  justi- 
fied by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law."  Here 
the  Apostle  evidently  means  the  deeds  of  the  exter- 
nal ritual  law,  such  as  circumcision,  washings,  sac- 
rifices, oblations,  etc.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  in  the  above  passages  the  Apostle  means 
the  works  or  deeds  of  the  divine  moral  law  of  the 
Ten  Commandments.  Because,  in  respect  to  this 
divine  law,  which  in  the  nature  of  things  cannot  be 
abrogated,  he  says,  "Not  the  hearers  of  the  law, 
but  the  doers  of  the  law,  shall  be  justified"  (Horn.  ii. 
13) ;  and  he  also  says  that  u  the  love  of  the  neighbor 
is  the  fulfilling  of  this  law"  (Pom.  xiii.);  and  the 
Lord  himself  declares,  "  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life, 
keep  the  commandments."  (Matt.  xix.  17.) 

The  deeds  or  works  proceeding  from  the  external 
observance  of  the  ritual  laws,  the  Apostle  declares 
were  udead  works,"  from  which  they  should  be 
purified.  They  were  dead  because  they  had  no 
power  to  effect  justification  in  the  sight  of  God. 
Hence  we  may  plainly  see  why  the  Apostle  declared 
that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justi- 
fied in  his  sight. 


JUSTIFIED  BY   THE  LAW  OF  LOVE.      125 

When  the  Apostle  said  that  we  are  justified  by 
Faith,  he  meant,  as  the  learned  well  know,  thft  en- 
tire system  of  Christianity  as  contrasted  with  the 
Law,  which  meant  the  entire  system  of  the  Mosaic 
dispensation.  Now  the  principal  law  of  this  Chris- 
tian faith  is  the  ulaw  of  love  to  God  and  to  our 
neighbor  "  (Matt.  xxii.  37) ;  and  it  is  by  this  law  of 
faith  that  we  are  justified  in  his  sight.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  by  faith  only  that  we  are  justified,  but  by 
faith,  love  and  good  works  united.  The  Church  of 
the  New  Jerusalem  teaches  that  we  are  justified,  or 
made  just  and  saved  uby  a  faith  which  worketh  by 
love,"  and  which  manifests  itself  in  the  life  by  those 
good  works  to  which  the  Lord  alludes  when  He  says, 
u  So  let  your  light  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,"  etc. 

We,  therefore,  consider  it  to  be  a  most  fatal  error, 
attended,  as  the  history  of  the  church  proves,  with 
the  most  disastrous  consequences,  to  maintain,  as 
modern  orthodoxy  maintains  (see  Article  XL  of  the 
Church  of  England),  that  ua  man  is  justified  by 
faith  only."  Because  this  doctrine  excludes  the 
idea  of  charity  and  good  works,  or  the  works  of  a 
good  and  holy  life,  "  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  "  (Gal. 
v.)  as  the  essential  elements  of  justification  and 
salvation. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about  justifica- 
tion ;  some  supposing  it  to  be  one  thing  and  some 
another,  but  all  seeming  to  agree  that  it  is  a  sudden 
change,  wrought  by  faith  only,  in  the  mind  of  one 
who  has  faith  in  the  merits  of  Christ.  These  merits 
are,  like  his  omnipotence  and  omniscience,  infinite  ; 
11* 


126  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

and  we  nowhere  read  in  the  Gospel  that  they  are 
imputed  to  man.  The  Scripture  universally  requires 
us  to  labor,  to  strive,  to  fight  the  good  fight,  etc., 
that  we  may  be  justified.  But  the  prevailing  doc- 
trine of  justification  requires  no  such  thing.  It 
considers  a  man  as  merely  passive  in  the  work  of 
salvation.  Whereas  the  Apostle  commands  us  "to 
work  out  our  salvation,"  etc. ;  and  the  Lord  says, 
u  Strive  to  enter  in,"  etc. 

The  common  doctrine  is  said  in  the  Article  to  be 
"full  of  comfort."  Verily  it  is  full  of  comfort  to 
the  merely  natural  man,  as  it  encourages  him  in  his 
sloth,  and  does  not  arouse  him  to  action,  and  make 
him  exclaim  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  This 
doctrine  reminds  us  of  the  u  pillows  sewed  under  all 
arm-holes,  whereby  their  souls  are  hunted  to  death  " 
(Ezek.  xiii.  18,  19);  these  pillows  are  also  "full  of 
comfort  "  to  the  natural  man.  But  are  they  not 
dreadful  obstacles  to  his  salvation  ? 

But  I  am  reminded  that  my  space  is  filled  up. 
Your  intelligent  readers  will,  I  trust,  compare  one 
system  of  Justification  with  the  other,  and  they  will 
soon  see  which  is  the  most  truly  Evangelical. 

My  next  subject  will  be  the  apostolic  doctrine  of 
"  The  Cross  of  Christ,  and  of  Him  Crucified."  In 
the  meantime,  believe  me,  Mr.  Editor, 

Yours,  right  truly,  A.  Y. 


LETTER  IX. 

THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  CROSS 
EXPLAINED. 

: — In  my  last  letter  I  gave  a  statement  of 
the  "justification  of  the  sinner  before  God." 
as  maintained  by  the  Church  of  the  New 
Jerusalem.  This  doctrinal  statement  was  shown 
to  arise  out  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  dis- 
cussed in  a  previous  letter.  As  no  opponent  has 
appeared  against  these  doctrinal  statements  main- 
tained by  the  New  Church,  I  have  no  occasion  for 
reply. 

Permit  me,  however,  to  state  one  fact,  which  I 
desire  earnestly  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  your 
numerous  and  intelligent  readers.  It  is  this  :  that 
all  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem are  founded,  as  your  readers  will  have  abun- 
dantly seen,  on  the  Word  of  God  solely,  and  not  on 
any  supposed  revelations  made  immediately  by  God 
to  Swedenborg.  I  am  aware  that  this  erroneous  sup- 
position commonly  prevails  amongst  those  who  have 
not  read  Swedenborg's  works,  and  who  are  conse- 
quently not  rightly  informed  as  to  this  important 
point.  No  theological  writer  that  has  ever  appeared, 
has  so  abundantly  confirmed  his  doctrinal  state- 
ments and  positions  by  Scripture  as  Swedenborg. 
Let  his  "True  Christian  Religion  "  be  consulted, 
and  this  will  be  abundantly  evident.  It  is  because 

127 


128  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

there  is  nothing  of  the  man  called  Swedenborg  in 
the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church,  but  because  every- 
thing is  from  the  Word  of  God,  that  we  object  to 
being  called  "  Swedenborgians ; "  but  as  the  world 
will  thus  designate  us,  we  must  put  up  with  it. 

I  will  now,  with  your  permission,  proceed,  as  inti- 
mated at  the  conclusion  of  my  last  letter,  to  state 
the  doctrine  of  the  New  Church  on  "Salvation  by 
the  Cross  of  Christ  and  Him  Crucified."  We  hear 
much  said  respecting  the  "Cross  of  Christ,"  the 
"Eeligion  of  the  Cross,"  and  "Christ  crucified;" 
and  much  depends  on  the  manner  in  which  these  ex- 
pressions are  understood.  If  understood  in  their 
truly  evangelical  sense,  and  the  divine  truths  hence 
resulting  practised  accordingly,  no  subject  of  prac- 
tical Christianity  can  be  of  greater  importance,  and 
none  more  calculated  to  edify  the  soul  in  righteous- 
ness and  holiness  than  the  Doctrine  of  the  Cross. 

Prior  to  Christianity  the  cross  was  only  known  as 
an  object  to  which  the  greatest  suffering  and  igno- 
miny were  attached.  As  an  instrument  of  punish- 
ment it  was  in  general  use  amongst  the  Eastern 
nations,  and  also  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
The  greatest  crimes  were  thus  expiated  by  the  most 
excruciating  torments  that  cruelty  could  devise,  or 
that  vengeance  could  inflict.  So  great  were  the  tor- 
ments caused  by  this  dreadful  punishment,  that 
Cicero  has  declared  "that  the  mind,  even  at  the 
thought  of  sufferings  and  agonies  so  intense,  is  filled 
with  horror."  A  word  on  the  various  punishments 
mentioned  in  Scripture  will  not,  while  explaining 
the  doctrine  of  the  cross,  be  out  of  place. 


PUNISHMENTS  AMONG    THE  JEWS.        129 

There  were  several  kinds  of  punishment  among 
the  Jews;  the  principal  of  which  were  "  stoniny" 
(Lev.  xx.  2),  "  hanging  on  wood  or  the  cross  "  (Joshua 
viii.  29),  and  "burning."  (Lev.  xxi.  9.)  Those 
crimes  which  arose  more  especially  from  transgres- 
sing and  violating  the  divine  Truth  of  God's  Word, 
were  punished  by  stoning;  those  which  were  more 
directly  opposed  to  the  divine  Goodness  were  pun- 
ished by  hanging  on  wood  or  the  cross;  and  those 
which  involved  profanation  were  punished  by  burn" 
ing.  The  loss  of  natural  life  for  the  above  offences 
was  a  type  of  the  loss  of  spiritual  life,  under  the 
Christian  dispensation,  with  those  who  do  violence 
to  the  Truth  of  the  Word  by  the  indulgence  of  evil 
lusts  and  perverse  thoughts,  and  continue  unrepent- 
ant through  life,  and  thus  bring  upon  themselves 
"  everlasting  punishment "  or  condemnation,  which, 
under  the  law,  was  called  the  "  curse  ;  "  hence  they 
who  were  crucified  were  said  to  be  "accursed  of 
God."  These  punishments  were  permitted  and  in- 
flicted for  the  sake  of  the  end  to  be  obtained  thereby, 
which  is  salvation  and  the  preservation  of  the  Church. 
Hence  it  was  said,  "that  thy  land  be  not  defiled," 
that  is,  that  the  Church  may  not  perish,  but  be  pre- 
served. Thus,  according  to  the  letter  of  the  law, 
the  Jews  were  required  to  remove  evil  persons  by 
punishments  from  among  them,  that  their  typical 
religion  might  subsist  and  remain  until  the  "fulness 
of  times,"  or  until  the  Lord  came  into  the  world  to 
effect  an  Atonement  and  to  accomplish  Redemption. 
And,  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  same  laws,  Chris- 
tians are  required  to  remove  evil  principles  from  within 
I 


130  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

them,  that  their  real  religion  may  remain  and  in- 
crease in  fulness  to  eternity. 

When  the  divine  truths  of  the  Word  are  thus 
properly  discerned,  it  will  be  seen  that  every  sin 
has  its  own  punishment,  and  that  it  will  be  found 
impossible  to  escape  the  punishment  of  any  sin 
which  we  commit,  so  long  as  it  is  indulged  and 
practised.  So  soon  as  any  known  evil  is  indulged 
in  thought  and  harbored  in  the  spirit  with  any  de- 
gree of  complacency  or  delight,  "it  defileth  a  racm," 
and  maketh  him  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God,  and 
consequently  destroys  the  life  of  heaven  in  the  soul 
and  removes  it  to  the  dark  regions  of  spiritual  death 
and  eternal  misery.  Hence  the  necessity  of  punish- 
ments, which,  however,  do  not  arise  from  the  divine 
appointments  of  God,  but  from  the  violation  of  his 
divine  laws  of  order.  Punishments,  nevertheless, 
are  permissions  of  Divine  Providence  for  the  sake 
of  salvation.  God  wills  the  end,  and  permits  the 
means ;  and  these  permissions  are  occasionally  pre- 
sented in  the  literal  sense  of  the  Word  under  the 
form  of  commands,  and  their  infliction  assumes  the 
appearance  of  anger  and  vengeance  as  coming  from 
God.  A  wise  parent  either  punishes  a  disobedient 
child,  or  permits  him  to  be  punished,  not  that  he 
has  any  approbation  or  pleasure  in  the  punishment, 
for  he  grieves  at  the  idea  of  his  child's  suffering ; 
but  he  permits  it  because  he  knows  that  if  the  evil 
to  which  the  child  is  prone  increases,  it  will  be  the 
cause  of  his  unhappiness  both  in  this  life  and  in 
eternity.  In  like  manner,  u  as  a  father  pitieth  his 
children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  Him." 


GOD  DOES  NOT  PUNISH.  131 

The  Lord  permits  punishments  for  a  similar  object 
— that  man's  evil  may  be  subdued,  and  that  he  may 
be  eternally  happy.  Thus  it  is  written,  "As  many 
as  I  love  I  rebuke  and  chasten."  (Rev.  iii.  1 '•>.') 
Again,  "  For  whom  the  Lord  loveth,  He  chastcncth." 
(Heb.  xii.  6.) 

We  have  been  thus  led  into  the  subject  of  punish- 
ments as  being  not  only  connected  with  the  r/v.ss 
as  the  instrument  of  punishment,  but  chiefly  to  slm\v 
that  punishments  are  in  no  way  designed  and  ap- 
pointed by  God,  and  that  He  cannot  arbitrarily 
punish  the  wicked,  but  that  the  wicked  by  their 
own  sinful  states  and  deeds  bring  punishment  upon 
themselves.  These  remarks  enable  us  to  see  how 
greatly  those  err  who  suppose  that  the  sufferings 
endured  by  Jesus  Christ  were  inflicted  by  the  hand 
or  will  of  God.  In  this,  as  in  other  cases,  God  willed 
the  end,  and  permitted  the  means.  The  end  was  the 
redemption  of  mankind,  and  the  glorification  of  the 
Redeemer's  Humanity,  that  He  might  thus  perpet- 
uate redemption  forever ;  and  the  means  were  the 
assaults  from  the  u powers  of  darkness"  and  com- 
bats against  them  which  the  Lord,  as  the  "  Son  of 
Man,"  had  to  endure  and  overcome  during  his  whole 
life  in  the  world ;  the  last  temptation  and  combat 
being  that  of  the  cross,  by  which  the  entire  work  of 
redemption  and  atonement  was  accomplished.  He 
suffered,  not  to  avert  the  vengeance  of  God,  or  to 
satisfy  what  is  called  "vindictive  justice"  in  God, 
but  to  avert  the  vengeance  of  hell  and  to  deliver 
mankind  from  the  bondage  of  "  unclean  and  evil 
spirits,"  of  which  we  read  so  much  in  the  Gospels. 


132  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

He  suffered,  not  to  appease  the  wrath  of  a  supposed 
angry  God,  but  "  that  through  death  He  might  de- 
stroy him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the 
devil ;  and  deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death 
were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage."  (Heb. 
ii.  14,  15.) 

The  cross,  therefore,  as  involving  the  temptations, 
combats  and  victories  by  which  redemption  was  ac- 
complished, became  the  emblem  of  Christianity, 
which  was  called  the  "  Keligion  of  the  Cross." 
These  sufferings  and  temptations  of  the  great  Re- 
deemer  are  also  understood  by  the  "  blood  of  the 
cross,"  and  likewise  by  the  '-'blood  which  cleanses 
us  from  all  sin."  For  by  this  blood  is  not  only  meant 
his  sufferings,  but  also  the  Divine  Truth  which 
comes  from  Him  in  his  glorified  Humanity,  and  of 
which  He  speaks  when  He  says  that  we  must  "drink 
his  blood"  (John  vi.  54),  else  "we  have  no  life  in 
us. "  Moreover,  another  reason  why  the  cross  is  the 
emblem  of  Christianity,  is  because  the  Lord  so  often 
said  that  "  except  a  man  take  up  his  cross  and  fol- 
low Him,  he  cannot  be  his  disciple." 

It  will  now  be  evident  that  the  Redeemer's  suffer- 
ings are  not  to  be  considered  in  the  sense  of  punish- 
ments that  overtake  the  sinner  as  being  inherent  in 
his  own  evils,  for  "  He  was  without  sin."  Neither, 
for  the  same  reason,  is  his  crucifixion  to  be  viewed 
as  that  of  a  malefactor  and  the  "  accursed  of  God," 
as  above  explained.  He  who  was  innocence  itself, 
and  whose  whole  life  was  one  of  constant  submission 
and  obedience  to  the  divine  will,  could  not  possibly, 
in  any  true  sense,  be  "accursed."  Nevertheless, 


CHRIST'S  SUFFERINGS  PURIFICATORY.    133 

He  was  so  regarded  by  the  Jews,  and  thr6ugh  their 
wickedness  He  was,  as  the  Apostle  says,  u  made  a 
curse  for  us."  He,  "the  just  for  the  unjust,"  un- 
justly suffered  the  punishment  of  the  cross  at  a 
time  when  that  penalty  was  justly  due  to  the  fallen 
church. 

The  Lord  often  adverted  to  his  sufferings  and  cru- 
cifixion (Matt.  xx.  18,  19 ;  xvi.  22,  23 ;  Luke  xxiv. 
26)  as  indispensable  to  his  "  entering  into  his  glory." 
But  these  sufferings  signified  by  the  cross,  were,  as 
we  have  seen  in  a  former  letter,  not  penal,  that  is, 
not  endured  in  the  sense  of  punishment,  as  a  vica- 
rious substitute  in  the  stead  of  man ;  but  they  were 
purificatory,  that  is,  they  were  endured -as  the  means 
of  sanctifying  or  purifying  the  humanity  He  had 
assumed  from  the  Virgin,  for  the  purpose  of  redemp- 
tion. In  this  manner  it  was  that  "  He,  as  the  Cap- 
tain of  our  salvation,  became  perfect  through  suffer- 
ings" (Heb.  ii.  10) ;  and  that  "  He  learned  obedience 
by  the  things  which  He  suffered  "  (Heb.  v.  8).  Thus 
his  sufferings  were  the  means  of  "  abolishing  the  en- 
mity in  his  flesh  "  (Eph.  ii.  15),  or  of  atoning  or 
reconciling,  first,  uin  himself"  (Eph.  ii.  15)  the 
fallen  human  nature  to  the  Divinity  within  Him, 
and  thus  of  providing,  through  the  glorification  of 
his  humanity,  the  infinite  Medium  of  reconciling  all 
to  God  and  to  one  another  in  mutual  love,  "who 
come  unto  Him  and  obey  Him  as  the  Author  of 
their  salvation." 

In  order,  then,  that  we  may  have  a  proper  Scrip- 
tural view  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  of  the  Eel  uj  Ion 
of  the  Cross,  we  must  not  consider  the  passion  of  the 
12 


134  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

cross  onZy,  which  the  Lord  suffered  as  the  last  most 
direful  temptation,  by  which  He  finished  the  work 
of  redemption  ;  but  we  must  extend  our  view  to  the 
whole  life  of  Jesus  Christ  whilst  in  the  world,  be- 
cause we  shall  find  that,  as  He  requires  that  "his 
•disciple  should  daily  bear  his  cross,"  so  He  as  our 
divine  pattern  daily  bore  his  cross,  and  daily  suffered 
the  temptations  spiritually  signified  by  the  cross. 

This  view  of  the  subject  opens  a  new  scene  of 
awful  sublimity  and  of  overwhelming  grandeur  in 
the  life  of  the  Redeemer,  to  all  those  who  have 
hitherto  confined  their  views  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross,  to  the  time  when  the  Lord  was  literally  cruci- 
fied. Such  persons  cannot  but  consider  that  the 
passion  of  the  cross  and  the  work  of  redemption 
were  one  and  the  same  thing ;  or  that  the  whole 
work  of  redemption  consisted  in  suffering  the  pas- 
sion of  the  cross  only.  But  the  truth  is,  that  the 
Lord,  from  the  manger  to  the  cross,  was  engaged  in 
acts  of  redemption  finally  completed  at  his  cruci- 
fixion, when  He  said,  ult  is  finished." 

Seeing,  then,  the  important  signification  of  the 
cross  as  the  emblem  of  redemption,  because  involv- 
ing the  temptations  and  the  means  by  which  it  was 
accomplished,  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
exclaims  with  the  Apostle,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should 
glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto 
the  world. "  (Gal.  vi.  14.)  The  cross  of  Christ  here 
plainly  signifies  the  religion  of  Christ,  or  Christianity. 
This  is  evident  from  its  being  contrasted  in  a  previous 
verse  with  the  circumcision^  or  the  religion  of  the 


DOCTRINE  OF   THE  CROSS.  135 

Jews.  For  by  the  cross,  or  the  religion  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  "  the  world  is  crucified  unto  us  ;  "  that 
is,  we  have  power  to  overcome  the  world,  the  flesh. 
and  the  devil,  and  thus  be  saved.  IK- nee  the  Apostle 
again  says,  "The  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to  tin  in 
that  perish  foolishness,  but  unto  us  that  are  saved 
it  is  the  power  of  God."  (1  Cor.  i.  18.)  Because 
all  the  power  for  salvation  was  provided  by  our  Sa- 
viour God,  through  the  work  of  redemption  nnd 
atonement.  But  this  power  is  of  no  use  to  man,  un- 
less he  applies  it  in  faith  and  love  for  the  purpoaes 
of  salvation.  Thus  he  must  "bear  his  cross,"  and 
^crucify  the  flesh,  with  the  affections  or  passions 
and  lusts  thereof."  (Gal.  v.  24.)  In  this  applica- 
tion of  the  cross  laid  down  by  the  Lord  and  his  Apos- 
tle, it  verily  becomes  to  us  u  the  power  of  God"  for 
all  the  purposes  of  salvation.  Hence  we  can  have 
no  faith,  no  love,  no  holiness,  in  short,  no  Christian 
virtue  whatever,  unless  we  have  previously  borne 
the  cross,  and  have  endured  the  temptations  neces- 
sary for  our  purification  and  regeneration.  The 
Lord  consequently  says,  that  "  except  we  deny  our- 
selves, take  up  our  cross  and  follow  Him,  we  cannot 
be  his  disciples." 

This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  as  understood  by 
the  primitive  Christians.  But  soon  after  that  primi- 
tive age  everything  of  vital  godliness  in  Christianity 
became  more  and  more  external,  until  at  length  very 
few  features  of  the  holy  religion  of  the  cross,  or  of 
true  Evangelical  Christianity,  could  be  seen.  The 
doctrine  of  the  cross  became  so  greatly  obscured, 
that  the  practical  evangelical  truths  it  involves  were 


136  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

almost  lost  sight  of,  until  at  length  the  cross  was 
reduced  to  a  mere  external  badge  of  the  Christian 
religion  ;  and  in  this  degraded  state  it  remained 
throughout  the  dark  ages  which  immediately  pre- 
ceded the  Reformation. 

At  this  period  the  cross  was  brought  prominently 
forward  as  the  great  means  of  salvation.  The  eyes 
of  the  Protestant  world  were  directed  to  the  cross 
on  Calvary,  and  to  a  crucified  Redeemer,  as  the  very 
centre  around  which  all  the  faithful  should  assemble. 
This  was  certainly  raising  the  cross  from  the  servile 
office  of  a  mere  badge,  in  some  degree  to  its  primi- 
tive dignity  and  significance.  But  the  great  error 
which  gained  so  prodigious  a  power  in  most  of  the 
Protestant  Churches  was,  "that  faith  alone  in  the 
merits  of  Christ,  as  having  suffered*  on  the  cross  the 
penalties  of  sin  in  man's  stead,  was  all  that  is  suf- 
ficient for  the  salvation  of  man."  This  doctrine 
was  the  great  luminary  of  the  Protestant  Churches. 
But  what  were  and  what  are  still  its  effects  ?  Luther 
himself,  not  many  years  after  he  and  other  Reform- 
ers had  preached  this  doctrine,  complained  most 
bitterly  that  the  lives  of  the  Protestants  in  general 
were  even  more  licentious  and  wicked  than  had  been 
the  case  prior  to  the  Reformation.*  And  how  could 
it  be  otherwise,  when  all  the  practical  part  of  Chris- 
tianity was  destroyed  by  the  dogma,  u  that  man  is 
saved  by  faith  alone  in  the  merits  of  Christ,"  who, 

*  See  Luther's  letters  to  his  friends  on  this  subject.  [See 
also  Appendix  by  the  Editor  of  the  American  edition  of  this 
work,  at  the  end  of  this  Letter,  p.  1-10.] 


REPENTANCE.  137 

it  is  said,  had  suffered  as  a  vicarious  sacrifice  allthe 
penalties  of  sin  in  man's  stead  ;  and  that  man  had 
only  to  believe  in  this  doctrine,  and  the  merits  and 
righteousness  of  Christ  would  be  imputed  to  him, 
and  his  salvation  would  be  secured?  When  this 
doctrine  is  properly  considered,  it  will  be  found  to 
be  a  pure  invention  of  man,  and  quite  opposed  to 
the  genuine  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  important  doctrine  of  the  cross  was 
understood  and  preached  by  the  Apostles,  and  re- 
ceived and  practised  by  the  primitive  Christian 
Church.  It  entirely  excludes  the  cooperation  of 
man  with  the  Lord,  "  in  working  out  his  salvation  " 
(Phil.  ii.  12),  and  closes  his  eyes  against  the  necessity 
of  u  denying  himself  and  of  taking  up  his  own  cross 
daily,"  and,  through  the  power  of  his  Saviour  God, 
combating  against  the  corruptions  of  his  depraved, 
fallen  nature,  by  "  crucify  ing  his  affections  and  lusts" 
as  opposed  to  the  purity  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  way 
we  have  above  described. 

We  now  come  to  a  very  important  point  in  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  which  is  that  of  KEPENTANCE.  Of 
all  the  doctrines  most  clearly  laid  down  in  the  Gos- 
pel, and  most  frequently  repeated,  Repentance  is 
certainly  that  doctrine.  But  the  doctrine  of  Repent- 
ance is  almost  excluded  from  the  prevailing  theology 
among  Protestants ;  and  among  the  Komanists  it  is 
perverted  into  the  dogma  of  penance.  Throughout 
the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England 
we  look  in  vain  for  any  mention  of  this  doctrine. 
This  doctrine  was  the  first  which  John  the  Baptist 
preached.  (Matt.  iii.  2  ;  Mark  i.  4).  It  was  the 
12* 


138  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

first  which  the  Lord  preached.  "Jesus  began  to 
preach  and  to  say,  Repent,"  etc.  (Matt.  iv.  17).  He 
came  uto  call  sinners  to  repentance"  (Matt.  ix.  13). 
The  Apostles  "went  out  and  preached  that  men 
should  repent  "  (Mark  vi.  12).  Jesus  said  "Except 
ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish  "  (Luke  xiii.  5). 
The  Apostles  in  like  manner  preached  everywhere 
repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins.  (Acts  ii.  38, 
iii.  19.  xvii.  30.)  And  to  every  church  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse the  Lord  promises  eternal  life  to  those  only 
who  "  repent  and  overcome. "  It  is  thus  abundantly 
evident  that  u  remission  of  sins  "  and  eternal  life 
are  given  solely  on  the  condition  of  faith  in  the 
Lord,  and  of  repentance,  which  consists  in  the 
shunning  of  evil  because  it  is  a  sin  against  Him. 

We  now  ask  how  it  has  come  to  pass  that  this  most 
Evangelical  doctrine  does  not  appear  in  the  prevail- 
ing theology  but  as  a  mere  incidental  thing,- and  not 
as  a  primary  and  essential  doctrine  of  Christianity  ? 
Has  it  not  been  supplanted  and  put  out  of  sight  by 
something  substituted  in  its  stead  by  the  traditions 
of  men,  which  in  this  case,  as  in  many  others,  "have 
rendered  the  Word  of  God  of  none  effect  "  ?  What 
is  this  something  which  has  thus  concealed  from 
men  the  necessity  of  doing,  as  a  means  of  salvation, 
the  work  of  repentance  ?  Is  it  not  the  prevailing 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  only,  which  has 
done  all  this  incalculable  evil  to  men's  states,  and 
closed  their  eyes  against  the  necessity  of  shunning 
evil  as  sin  against  God,  which  is  repentance,  as  the 
means  of  salvation  ? 

It  is  most  true  that  unless  the  Lord  had  accom- 


REPENTANCE  A    DAILY  DUTY.  139 

plished  Redemption  and  had  effected  the  Atonement 
in  the  manner  described  in  a  previous  letter,  uno 
flesh  could  have  been  saved."  This  work,  then,  of 
Redemption  and  Atonement  is  the  ground  of  repent- 
ance, because  it  is  from"  this  that  man  has  from  the 
Lord  the  power  to  do  the  work  of  repentance,  and 
to  overcome  and  remove  evil.  Thus  one  great  ob- 
ject of  redemption  was  to  place  man  in  a  position 
in  which  he  can  freely  refuse  what  is  evil  from  helf, 
and  choose  what  is  good  from  God.  To  do  this  in 
our  daily  life,  is  to  do  the  work  of  repentance,  and 
thus  become,  as  the  term  repentance  in  Greek  sig- 
nifies, changed  as  to  the  states  and  dispositions  of 
our  minds,  and  to  have  our  evils  and  sins  remitted 
and  removed. 

But  the  idea  involved  in  a  "  vicarious  substitute," 
which  is  the  chief  feature  in  the  prevailing  dogma 
of  the  Atonement,  is  that  of  excluding  the  truly 
Evangelical  doctrine  of  Repentance  from  the  work 
of  salvation.  Honce  it  is  that  this  most  practical 
doctrine  of  Christianity  is  rarely  preached;  nor  do 
we  find  it,  as  said  above,  prominently  mentioned  in 
any  of  the  articles  of  orthodoxy.  But  most  certain 
it  is,  as  believed  in  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem, that  the  daily  duty  of  repentance  is  the  first 
and  last  duty  of  man ;  because  by  this  duty  he  pre- 
pares himself  to  receive  from  the  Lord  faith,  love, 
holiness,  in  short,  all  the  blessings  of  Redemption 
and  Atonement,  and  every  good  which  constitutes 
eternal  life.  For  the  Atonement,  so  wonderfully 
effected,  can  be  of  no  possible  use  to  a  man  who 
does  not  avail  himself  of  its  saving  benefits  by  a 


140  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

life  of  daily  Kepentance.  But  for  further  explana- 
tion we  must  refer  the  reader  to  Swedenborg's  u  True 
Christian  Religion,"  especially  to  the  chapter  on 
Repentance,  so  deserving  of  his  attention. 

I  am,  etc.,  A.  Y. 

APPENDIX  BY  THE  AMERICAN  EDITOR. 

.  [Few  Christians  of  the  present  day  know  to  what 
a  fearful  extent  Martin  Luther  departed  in  his  relig- 
ious teachings  from  the  simple  and  most  explicit 
requirements  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  or  how  surely 
the  dogma  of  salvation  by  faith  alone,  so  much  in- 
sisted on  by  him,  tended  to  the  destruction  of  all 
heavenly  life  in  its  recipients,  consequently  to  the 
ruin  or  consummation  of  the  Christian  church.  This 
was  the  leading  doctrine  of  the  great  apostle  of  the 
Reformation  (so  called),  and  from  him  it  has  been 
received  and  incorporated  into  all  the  creeds  and 
proclaimed  from  all  the  "evangelical"  (?)  pulpits 
of  Protestant  Christendom.  That  the  reader  may 
see  what  this  "great  Reformer"  (?)  taught  and 
strongly  emphasized,  and  be  able  therefore  to  judge 
for  himself  of  the  inevitable  tendency  and  effect  of 
such  teaching  for  two  or  three  hundred  years,  I  add 
here  a  few  brief  extracts  from  Luther's  own  writ- 
ings. Thus,  in  his  answer  to  Erasmus,  entitled  De 
Servo  Arbitrio,  he  says : 

uThe  nature  of  the  Christian  Faith  requires  it 
[that  is,  the  preaching  of  the  doctrine  of  election]. 
Faith  has  to  do  with  'things  not  seen,'  and  this  is 
one  of  the  highest  degrees  of  faith ;  steadfastly  to 
believe  that  God  is  INFINITELY  merciful,— though 


LUTHER'S  ABOMINABLE    TEACH  IMS.      141 

He  saves  BUT  FEW,  and  condemns  NO  many ;  and  that 
He  is  strictly  just,  though  of  lux  o/m  will  11  MAKKS 
such  numbers  of  mankind  NECKSSAUILY  liable  to  tl<nn- 
nation.  Now  these  are  some  of  the  inunn  things 
whereof  faith  is  the  evidence;  wheivas.  was  it  in 
my  power  to  comprehend  them,  or  clearly  to  mal 
how  God  is  both  inrivlably  jn*t  and  iiijinitdy  rm  r 
NOTWITHSTANDING  the  display  of  wrath,  and  seem- 
in<j  inequality  in  liis  dispensations  respecting  the  rep- 
robate, FAITH  WOULD  HAVE  LITTLE  OR  NOTHING 
TO  DO.  But  now,  since  these  matters  cannot  be 
adequately  comprehended  by  us  in  the  present  state 
of  imperfection,  there  is  room  for  the  exercise  of 
faith.  The  truths,  therefore,  respecting  predestina- 
tion in  all  its  branches,  should  be  taught  and  pub- 
lished. They,  no  less  than  the  other  mysteries  of 
Christian  doctrine,  being  proper  objects  of  faith  on 
the  part  of  God's  people."  (Translated  in  Haweis 
Church  Hist.,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  393.) 

Again :  speaking  of  the  Ten  Commandments  and 

of  Moses,  he  says : 

"The  Ten  Commandments  do  not  belong  to  us 
Christians,  but  only  to  the  Jews:  which  is  proved 
out  of  the  text,  speaking  to  them  whom  He  brought 
out  of  Egypt,  who  were  Jews,  not  Christians.  We 
will  not  admit  that  any  the  least  precept  of  Moses 
be  imposed  upon  us.  Therefore  look  that  Moses 
with  all  his  law  be  sent  packing,  in  malam  rem, — 
with  a  mischief, — and  that  thou  be  not  moved  with 
any  terror  of  him,  but  hold  him  suspected  for  a  her- 
etic, cursed  and  damned,  and  worse  than  the  pope 
or  the  devil."  ( Works  of  Luther,  Vol.  I.,  folio  147.) 

"  If  adultery  could  be  committed  in  faith,  it  would 
not  be  sin."  * 

*  Si  in  fide  fieri  posset  adulterium,  pecoatum  non  esset. 
(Lutheri  opp,  torn.  I.  Jena?,  1556,  p.  523. 


142  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

"  Be  a  sinner,  and  sin  boldly :  but  believe  and  re- 
joice more  boldly  in  Christ,  who  is  the  conqueror  of 
sin,  of  death  and  the  world  :  we  must  sin  so  long  as 
we  remain  here.  This  life  is  not  the  habitation  of 
justice  ;  it  is  sufficient  that  we  know,  through  the 
riches  of  the  glory  of  God  the  lamb  which  \aketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world,  sin  cannot  pluck  us  away 
from  him,  although  we  were  to  commit  fornication  or 
murder  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  times  in  a  day."  * 

"  A  Christian  cannot,  if  he  will,  lose  his  salvation 
by  any  multitude  or  magnitude  of  sins,  unless  he 
ceases  to  believe  ;  for  no  sins  can  damn  him,  but  un- 
belief alone.  Everything  else,  provided  his  faith 
returns  or  stands  fast  in  the  Divine  promise  given 
in  baptism,  is  absorbed  in  a  moment  by  that  faith." 
— (Luther  de  Captivitate,  Bab.,  ii.  264.  Comp.  Dispu., 
i.  523.) 

Now,  are  not  the  sentiments  contained  in  these  ex- 
tracts from  the  writings  of  this  great  pillar  of  the 
Keformation,  calculated  to  diminish,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  members  of  the  Protestant  Churches, 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  divine  commandments 
"as  the  means  of  entering  into  life"?  Does  he  not 
here  speak  of  committing  fornication  and  even  of  mur- 
der as  scarcely  of  any  account,  provided  a  man  have 
what  he  calls  faith,  but  which  in  reality  can  no  more 
be  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  than  darkness  can  be 
light. 

*  Esto  peccator,  et  fortiter ;  sed  fortius  fide  et  gaude  in  Christo, 
qui  victor  est  peccati,  mortis  et  mundi :  peccandum  est,  quamdiu 
hie  simus.  Vita  haec  non  est  habitatio  justitise.  Sufficit  quod 
agnovimus  per  divitias  glorias  Dei  agnum,  qui  tollit  peccatura 
inundi,  ab  hoc  non  avellet  nos  peccatum,  etiamsi  millies,  mil- 
lies  uno  die  fornicemar  aut  occidamus. — Lutheri  Epis.  torn.  II. 
Jense,  1556,  p.  345. 


PRACTICAL  TENDENCY  OF  SVCH  TEACHING.   143 

Into  extravagancies  and  profanities  so  wild  was 
Luther  led  by  his  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
alone,  which  he  used  frequently  to  call  u  articulus 
stantis  vel  cadentis  ecclesice  "—that  by  which  the 
Church  must  stand  or  fall.  That  there  is  no  con- 
nection, as  Swedenborg  says,  between  such  a  faith 
as  this  and  the  keeping  of  the  divine  command- 
ments, is  abundantly  obvious.  There  is  nothing  in 
this  dogma  to  induce  those  who  accept  it  as  a  funda- 
mental, to  shun  evils  as  sins  against  God,  or  to  live 
a  holy  and  righteous  life.  Its  obvious  practical 
tendency  is  most  pernicious.  And  Luther  himself 
seems  to  have  had  some  misgivings  respecting  its 
practical  tendency ;  for  he  complained  of  the  effects 
of  such  teaching,  as  well  he  might.  He  says  respect- 
ing the  life  of  the  Protestants,  a  short  time  before 
his  death, — 

u  We  are  the  same  as  we  formerly  were,  addicted 
to  drunkenness  and  wantonness  ;  and  there  nowhere 
appears  to  be  so  great  an  earnestness  and  zeal  about 
the  Gospel,  as  there  once  was  amongst  the  monks 
and  priests.  The  Gospel  (such  as  we  preach  it) 
makes  lazy,  carnal  Christians,  who  think  that  they 
ought  not  to  do  any  good."* 

And  how  could  other  fruits  be  expected  from  doc- 
trines so  anti-evangelical  and  abominable  ?  Here 
we  see  one  great  reason  why  the  eyes  of  men  have, 

*  Wir  sind  dieselben,  die  wir  vorher  waren;  dcm  Trunk- 
ergeben,  geil,  und  1st  jetzt  nirgends  *ein  solcher  Ernst  beim 
Evangelium,  wie  man  zuvor  gesehen  hat  bei  Mcinchen  und 
Pfaffen.  Das  Evangelium  allein  macht  faule  fressige  Christen, 
die  da  mcinen,  sic  durfen  uiohts  gutes  thuen. 


144  THE  NEW-CHURCH    THEOLOGY. 

to  a  great  extent,  been  closed  against  the  necessity 
of  shunning  evils  as  sins  against  God — especially 
the  evils  of  falsehood,  fraud,  fornication  and  adul- 
tevy?  which  have,  in  consequence,  become  so  fear- 
fuily  strong  and  prevalent  throughout  all  Christen- 
dom. Had  the  Christian  Church  imitated  the  Great 
Teacher  Himself,  and  taught  as  He  did,  "repentance 
for  the  remission  of  sins,"  instead  of  Luther's  prom- 
inent doctrine  of  faith  alone,  as  the  primary  and 
most  essential  doctrine  of  practical  Christianity,  we 
should  not  now  have  to  deplore  the  existence  of  so 
many  and  great  evils  in  the  lives  of  those  who  are 
called  Christians.  The  moral  and  spiritual  con- 
dition of  Christendom  to-day,  is  precisely  what 
might  have  been  expected — the  legitimate  result  of 
the  false  and  anti-Christian  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
faith  alone. — Editor  of  the  American  Edition.] 


LETTER  X. 
DEATH  AND   THE  RESURRECTION. 

: — Death  and  the  Resurrection,  as  inti- 
mated in  my  last,  shall  be  the  subject  of 
my  present  letter.  Death  is  the  most  awful 
as  well  as  the  most  important  event  in  man's  his- 
tory. It  is  that  which  sums  up  all  the  acts  of  his 
past  life,  and  which  determines  his  lot  to  eternity. 
uHe  that  is  unjust  [at  the  period  of  his  death]  will 
be  unjust  still;  he  that  is  filthy  will  be  filthy  still; 
he  that  is  righteous  will  be  righteous  still;  and  he 
that  is  holy  will  be  holy  still."  (Rev.  xxii.  11.) 

Solemn,  awful  words  these,  which  ought  to  arouse 
even  the  most  stubborn  mind  to  reflection  as  to  the 
infinite  importance  of  a  truly  Christian  life.  No 
change  as  to  man's  governing  love,  or  as  to  his  real 
nature,  can  be  effected  after  death.  The  day  of 
probation  is  over ;  man's  states  are  fixed.  He  of 
his  own  free  choice  and  determination  has  formed 
his  life  either  for  good  or  for  evil.  And  as  he  has 
formed  it,  so  it  remains.  uAs  the  tree  falls,  so  it 
lies."  A  man  loves  the  nature  which  during  his 
life  on  earth  he  has  contracted ;  and  after  death  he 
is  no  more  willing  to  part  with  it,  or  to  change  it, 
than  a  wolf  or  a  viper  is  here  willing  to  part  with 
its  nature,  and  to  change  it  into  that  of  a  sheep  or 
a  lamb.  The  man  who,  whilst  here,  "delighted 
himself  in  the  abominations  of  sin"  (Isaiah  Ixvi.  3), 
13  K  145 


146  THE  NEW-CHURCH    THEOLOGY. 

as  in  the  sinful  pleasures  of  fornication,  revenge, 
malice,  fraud,  drunkenness,  etc.,  will  take  with  him 
his  evil  nature  into  the  spiritual  world— u  will  be 
filthy  still," — where  the  "pleasures  of  sin"  will  be 
changed,  by  the  inevitable  laws  of  that  order  which 
God  has  stamped  upon  the  moral  universe,  into  the 
miseries  of  hell.  And  this,  not  by  the  will,  decree 
or  predestination  of  God,  for  uGod  willeth  not  the 
death  of  a  sinner,  but  that  all  men  should  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  and  be  saved,"  but  by 
the  free  choice  and  determination  of  the  man  him- 
self. 

Whereas,  the  good  man  or  the  true  Christian  who, 
during  his  life  in  the  world,  has,  through  a  living 
faith  in  the  Lord,  and  through  the  love  of  Him  by 
keeping  his  precepts,  formed  his  life  for  good,  and 
who,  through  acts  of  justice,  sincerity,  charity,  and 
kindness  to  his  neighbor,  has  contracted  a  heavenly 
nature,  will,  after  death,  continue  to  delight  in  good- 
ness, truth  and  holiness,  and  ube  righteous  and  holy 
still ;  "  and  will,  consequently,  enter  into  that  world 
called  heaven,  where  nothing  can  approach  "that 
defileth,  or  worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie." 

There  are  three  ideas  of  death  presented  to  us  in 
God's  Word.  First,  there  is  the  death  of  the  body, 
or  natural  death.  Secondly,  there  is  the  death  of 
the  soul  "  in  trespasses  and  sins,"  or  spiritual  death, 
called  also  "  the  second  death."  And,  thirdly,  there 
is  "  the  death  unto  sin  "  (Rom.  vi.  2),  to  which  the 
Apostle  also  alludes  when  he  says,  "  I  die  daily." 

We  can  have  110  true  comprehensive  knowledge 
of  death  unless  we  consider  it  in  this  three-fold  light. 


NATURAL   AND   SPIRITUAL   DEATH.      147 

It  is  a  common  opinion  that  the  death  of  the  body, 
or,  more  properly,  the  separation  of  the  spirit  from 
the  body,  at  the  period  we  call  d» -ath.  is  a  conse- 
quence of  sin.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  The  death 
of  the  body  is  not  a  result  of  sin,  or  of  the  fall ;  but 
it  is  the  consequence  of  a  law  and  of  a  necessity  of 
creation,  in  order  that  man  as  a  spiritual  and  im- 
mortal being,  may  be  separated  from  what  is  mate- 
rial, and  may  become  an  inhabitant  of  the  spiritual 
world,  his  final  destiny.  Hence  when  a  man  dies  he 
is  said  "to  pay  the  debt  of  nature:  "  which  im-ans, 
that  man  is  only  undergoing  that  process  and  change 
called  death,  which  the  laws  of  nature  or  of  crea- 
tion require  that  he  should  undergo.  Hence  it  is 
said,  that  "it  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die, 
and  after  death  the  judgment  "  (Heb.  ix.  27),  to 
show  us  that  it  is  a  divine  appointment,  and  not  a 
consequence  of  sin,  that  man  should  be  separated 
from  the  material  body,  that  he  may  become  a  spir- 
itual being  and  an  inhabitant  of  heaven.  But  al- 
though the  dissolution  of  the  body  is  not  a  conse- 
quence of  sin,  yet  most  true  it  is,  that  all  disease 
and  suffering  generally  attendant  upon  death,  are 
from  sin. 

But  the  "death  of  the  soul  in  trespasses  and  sins," 
or  spiritual  death,  when  a  man  is  dead  to  the  life  of 
heaven,  is  what  is  properly  understood  in  Scripture 
by  the  term  death.-  A  few  passages  will  clearly  prove 
this  fact: — "This  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  a1  ire 
again."  "  He  that  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die." 
Again :  "  To  be  carnally  minded  is  death ;  to  be  spir- 
itually minded  is  life  and  peace."  From  these  and 


148  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

many  other  passages  of  similar  import,  it  is  evident 
that  death,  as  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  means 
chiefly  spiritual  death,  or  the  death  of  the  soul  to 
the  life  of  heaven,  which  life  is  love  to  God  above 
all  things,  and  love  to  the  neighbor.  Again:  "In 
the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die."  Adam  did  not  die  as  to  his  body  on  the  day 
he  ate  thereof,  but  he  died  as  to  the  life  of  heaven 
in  his  soul. 

When  a  man  denies  himself  as  to  his  selfish  na- 
ture, or  his  "  ungodly  lusts,"  he  is  said  "  to  die  unto 
sin,"  and  to  "live  unto  righteousness."  This  death 
is  said  to  be  daily— "I  die  daily  "  (1  Cor.  xv.  31) — 
because  it  is  in  this  way  that  a  man  is  regenerated 
day  by  day,  and  grows  in  grace  and  holiness.  This 
death  unto  sin  is  also  signified  by  "crucifying  the 
flesh  with  the  affections,  or  passions  and  lusts " 
(Gal.  v.  24):  and  "by  taking  up  our  cross  daily," 
that  we  may  be  disciples  of  the  Lord,  or  true  Chris- 
tians. 

Having  now  seen  what  death  is,  as  understood  in 
Scripture,  we  may  easily  see  what  life  is,  as  meant 
by  the  same  divine  Authority.  There  is  a  natural 
or  physical  life,  which  a  man  has  in  common  with 
animals ;  and  there  is  a  spiritual  life,  which  he  has, 
if  regenerate,  in  common  with  angels,  or  with  the 
"  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  in  heaven. "  If 
he  is  a  true  Christian,  or  is  "spiritually  minded," 
he  has  this  life ;  but  if  he  is  not  a  true  Christian, 
or  is  "  carnally  minded,"  he  has  not  this  life,  but  is 
dead;  for  "to  be  carnally  minded  is  death."  This 
spiritual  idea  of  life  and  death  pervades  the  Scrip- 


A    TWO-FOLD  RESURRECTION.  149 

tures,  as  your  intelligent  readers  are  well  aware. 
In  fact,  this  spiritual  life  or  this  spiritual  death 
which  continues  forever,  is  the  only  life  and  death 
worthy  of  the  Scriptures  to  contemplate.  The  life 
and  death  of  the  body,  which  so  soon  terminates 
and  is  forgotten,  is  scarcely  considered  as  anything 
compared  with  the  life  or  death  of  the  soul,  which 
never  terminates.  The  life  of  the  soul  consists  in 
the  ulove  of  the  Lord  above  all  things,  and  the  love 
of  our  neighbor  as  ourselves."  But  the  death  of 
the  soul  is  the  love  of  evil,  which  is  directly  opposed 
to  the  love  of  God.  For  life  as  to  its  essential  ele- 
ment is  love. 

Having  thus  briefly  stated  what  the  Church  of  the 
New  Jerusalem  teaches  from  the  Word  of  God  re- 
specting life  and  death,  I  will  now  proceed  to  show 
what  the  New  Church  teaches  respecting  the  Resur- 
rection. But  permit  me  first  to  say,  that  the  above 
general  statement  admits— as  your  intelligent  read- 
ers will  no  doubt  perceive — of  ample  confirmation 
from  Scripture,  which,  for  brevity's  sake,  I  cannot 
here  adduce. 

As  there  is  a  two-fold  death  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
1  tures,  "a  death  of  the  soul  in  trespasses  and  sin," 
and  a  death  of  the  body  when  separated  from  the 
soul,  so  there  is  a  two-fold  resurrection  mentioned  in 
the  Word  of  God.  Thus  we  read  of  the  first  resur- 
rection—"Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in 
the  first  resurrection."  (Rev.  xx.  3.)  This  first 
resurrection  is  a  resurrection  from  "the  death  of 
sin  unto  a  life  of  righteousness."  This  is,  indeed, 
a  blessed  resurrection  !  for  it  is  the  same  as  salva- 
13* 


150  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

tion.  And  as  this  resurrection  can  only  be  effected 
by  a  living  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  hence  it 
is  that  He  calls  himself  u  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life."  It  was  the  u  saving  power  of  this  resurrec- 
tion "  that  the  Apostle  prayed  "he  might  know" 
(Phil.  iii.  10),  even  while  he  was  still  living  in  the 
body  (verse  11).  For  the  first  or  primary  resur- 
rection from  the  death  of  sin  to  a  life  of  righteous- 
ness, must  take  place  here,  otherwise  there  can  be 
no  blessedness  after  death.  It  is  the  first  resurrec- 
tion to  which  the  Apostle  alludes  when  he  says,  "  If 
ye  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are 
above."  (Col.  ii.  1,  2.) 

It  is  important  to  dwell  upon  this  resurrection  ;  as 
people  in  general,  when  they  think  of  this  subject, 
think  only  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  at  some 
future  day,  called  the  general  resurrection,  which  is 
a  great  mistake,  as  it  is  nowhere  taught  in  Scripture. 
In  consequence  of  this  mistaken  idea,  they  entirely 
lose  out  of  sight  the  practical  efficacy  of  the  Scrip- 
ture doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  which  is  :  first, 
that  we  must  rise  from  the  death  of  selfishness  and 
sin  ;  and,  secondly,  that  we  rise  at  the  death  of  the 
natural  body,  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  are  clothed 
with  a  spiritual  body;  "for,"  says  the  Apostle, 
"there  is  a  natural  body  and  there  is  a  spiritual 
body." 

The  Lord  teaches  us  about  this  resurrection  in  the 
parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus,  from  which 
we  learn  the  following  facts  : — 1,  That  man  rises  im- 
mediately after  death  ;  2,  That  he  is  in  a  human 
form  or  spiritual  body  ;  and  3,  That  according  to  his 


THE   EVANGELICAL   DOCTJtLVE.  151 

state,  determined  by  his  life  in  the  world,  he  goes 
either  to  heaven  or  to  hell.  This  is  the  truly  Evan- 
gelical doctrine  concerning  the  resurrection  of  man 
from  the  dead,  as  it  is  taken  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  himself,  and  cannot  be  gainsaid  by  anybody  pro- 
fessing Christianity.  The  natural  body  is  adapted  to 
this  natural  world%  and  the  spiritual  body  is  adapted 
to  the  spiritual  world  in  which  man  is  to  live  for- 
ever. 

It  is  nowhere  taught  in  Scripture,  as  the  celebrated 
Locke  demonstrated  to  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  that 
dead  bodies  will  ever  rise  again  ;  but  the  contrary  is 
clearly  maintained  by  the  declaration  that  u  flesh 
and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 
The  doctrine  of  a  spiritual  body,  which  is  the  spirit- 
ually organized  form  of  man's  soul  or  mind,  is  clearly 
taught  in  Scripture.  It  is  this  which  rises  imme- 
diately on  the  death  of  the  natural  body,  and  is  in 
its  own  or  spiritual  world. 

The  common  notion  of  the  resurrection  of  the  ma- 
terial body,  at  some  future  day  (for  according  to  this 
doctrine  Adam  and  Eve  have  not  yet  risen  from  the 
dead),  is  founded  upon  a  few  passages  of  Scripture 
not  understood  ;  and  is  full  of  the  most  gloomy  no- 
tions, and  affords  no  incentive  (on  account  of  the 
supposed  long  unconscious  state  or  sleep  in  which 
the  soul  is  between  death  and  the  resurrection),  to 
a  life  of  holiness.  Whereas,  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  on  this  subject,  is  full 
of  light  and  comfort  to  a  thinking  mind,  and  a  great 
incentive  to  watchfulness  and  holiness  of  life.  For 
when  it  is  known  that  man  rises,  in  the  spiritual  or 


152  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

eternal  world  immediately  at  death,  as  is  clearly  im- 
plied in  the  Lord's  words  to  the  thief  on  the  cross 
— u  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise  " — 
and  that  he  continues  to  exist  in  a  far  more  conscious 
state  of  feeling  and  thought  and  of  every  mental 
sensation,  than  he  possibly  could  here  whilst  clogged 
with  a  material  body — every  inducement  is  held  out 
to  even  a  thoughtless  mind  to  lead  a  life  which  shall 
fit  him  for  holiness  hereafter. 

That  the  natural  body  is  not  necessary,  as  some 
erroneously  suppose,  to  the  perfection  of  man  after 
death,  is  clearly  implied  in  the  declaration  of  the 
Apostle,  u  that  the  spirits  of  just  men  are  made  per- 
fect in  heaven. "  If  already  perfect,  what  need  have 
they  of  the  resurrection  of  the  material  body  to  make 
them  perfect  ?  As  space  does  not  permit  me  to  enter 
further  upon  the  Scriptural  and  rational  demonstra- 
tion of  this  doctrine  of  the  New  Church,  I  will  ad- 
vise your  readers  who  wish  to  inquire  more  into  it, 
to  apply  to  W.  White,  36  Bloomsbury  Street,  Oxford  * 
Street,  London,  and  they  will  receive  gratis,  by  post, 
a  tract  on  the  subject,  which  explains  the  Scripture 
passages  which  they  may  conceive  are  not  in  accord- 
ance with  this  idea.  [Or,  they  may  apply  to  E.  H. 
Swinney,  No.  20  Cooper  Union,  New  York  ;  or  to 
the  Swedenborg  Publishing  Association,  930  Market 
Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa.] 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  right  truly,  A.  Y. 


^SI- 


XL 

SPIRITUAL  DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION. 

:— I  am  glad  to  find  that  a  new  opponent 
in  C.  D.  has  come  forward.  My  letters  on 
the  "Atonement,"  on  the  "  Justification  of 
the  sinner  before  God,"  and  on  the  u  True  Doctrine 
of  Salvation  by  the  Cross  of  Christ,"  remain  un- 
touched by  any  opposing  arguments.  And  your 
readers  will  find,  the  more  they  reflect  upon  them, 
that  they  are  abundantly  substantiated  by  Scrip- 
ture, perfectly  comprehensible  and  rational,  and 
above  all  so  evangelically  practical  as  to  lead 
straightway  to  salvation.  No  mysticism,  no  bind- 
ing down  of  the  understanding  in  obedience  to  a 
blind  faith — the  maxim  of  the  theology  of  the  dark 
ages— is  tolerated  in  the  light  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 
Those  who  uphold  fallacious  and  erroneous  dog- 
mas founded  on  appearances,  and  not  on  the  dictates 
of  genuine  truth,  are— whatever  they  may  say  to  the 
contrary — directly  opposed  to  that  mental  progress 
and  enlightenment  of  which,  in  this  age,  we  are  so 
much  inclined  to  boast.  Is  the  human  mind  to  im- 
prove in  science,  in  political  economy,  and  in  every- 
thing relating  to  the  bodily  life  ?  and  are  there  to  be 
no  new  ideas  drawn  from  a  superior  interpretation 
of  the  Word  of  God,  to  enable  it  to  improve  in  the 
spiritual  and  heavenly  life  ?  Heaven  forbid  !  Men 
can  only  really  improve  as  they  make  progress  in  the 

153 


154  THE   NEW-CHURCH    THEOLOGY. 

knowledge  of  God's  Word,  and  of  spiritual  and  heav- 
enly things.  This  is  the  real  progress.  This  is  the 
real  enlightenment,  for  which  we  should  pray,  and 
after  which  we  should  aspire. 

My  new  and  learned  opponent  seems  unwilling  or 
unable  to  make  a  distinction  between  the  death  of 
the  body,  as  an  appointment  of  God  by  creation, 
and  the  death  of  the  soul,  so  clearly  distinguished 
in  Scripture,  as  pointed  out  in  my  last  letter.  All 
his  ideas  are  consequently  in  great  confusion  and 
obscurity.  The  day  that  Adam  ate  of  the  forbidden 
tree,  he  did  not  die  as  to  the  body,  but  as  to  the  soul. 
Adam's  body  at  creation,  like  all  the  things  that  God 
had  made,  including  the  reptiles,  etc.,  was  uvery 
good;"  but  does  it  follow,  as  C.  D.  infers,  that 
Adam's  natural  body  would  not,  like  every  other 
thing,  undergo  a  process  called  decay  and  death,  in 
order  that  his  immortal  spirit  might  be  freed  from 
its  tenement  of  clay,  and  enter  upon  its  immortal 
existence  in  the  spiritual  world  ? 

One  great  evil  caused  by  an  erroneous  and  sensual 
theology  is,  that  it  keeps  the  mind  bound  down  to 
the  life  of  the  body,  and  does  not  elevate  it  to  con- 
sider the  life  of  the  spirit.  But  the  life  of  the  spirit 
is  the  real  life,  which  Scripture,  when  read  with  any 
degree  of  spiritual  discernment,  always  contem- 
plates. It  is  most  true  that  disease  and  suffering 
came  upon  man's  body,  and  that  thorns  and  thistles 
and  barrenness  came  upon  the  earth  by  the  Fall. 
But  this  fact  is  forever,  to  be  distinguished  from-  the 
separation  of  man's  spirit  from  his  body  of  clay  at 
the  period  we  call  death.  It  was  sin,  and  the  con- 


A    UNIVERSAL   RESURRECTION.  155 

sequent  influx  of  evil  from  hell,  which  caused  all 
these  miseries  to  the  human  ra< 

As  my  opponent  confounds  th<»  natural  death  of 
the  body  with  the  spiritual  death  of  the  soul,  so  he 
confounds  the  ideas  of  the  resurrection  of  man  from 
the  death  of  sin  with  the  resurrection  of  the  xpirit 
from  the  body.  These  two  ideas  again  are  clearly 
distinguished  by  Scripture,  but  not  so  by  the  t  ur- 
ology which  commonly  prevails.  The  arguments 
stated  in  my  letter  from  the  parable  of  the  Rich  Man 
and  Lazarus  are  passed  -by,  or  entirely  ignored,  by 
my  opponent.  But  these  arguments  settle  the  ques- 
tion as  to  the  resurrection  of  man  from  the  dead, 
and  prove  that  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Church  is, 
on  this  subject,  based  upon  "the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus;"  for  Jesus  spake  this  parabte  in  order  to 
teach  us  the  truth  on  this  important  subject.  But 
I  am  aware  it  is  common  in  controversy  to  ignore 
arguments,  or  to  pronounce  them  unintelligible, 
which  cannot  be  refuted. 

But  C.  D.  imagines  that  he  can  prove  the  resur- 
rection of  dead  bodies  at  some  future  period  called 
the  general  resurrection,  by  certain  passages  of 
Scripture  commonly  employed  for  this  purpose.  I 
was  fully  aware  of  these  passages,  and  I  referred 
your  readers  to  the  tract,  to  be  had  gratis  on  appli- 
cation, by  which  those  passages  are  explained.  Per- 
mit me,  however,  first  to  state  that  the  New  Church 
believes  not  only  in  a  general,  but  in  a  universal  res- 
urrection ;  that  is,  that  every  man  rises  on  the  death 
of  his  natural  body,  in  a  spiritual  body,  and  that  he 
is  then  in  the  spiritual  world,  like  Lazarus  and  the 


156  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

rich  man,  or  like  the  thief  on  the  cross,  to  whom 
the  Lord  said,  "This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in 
Paradise."  These  had  risen,  and  they  were  in  the 
spiritual  world,  but  their  natural  bodies  had  not 
risen;  consequently  they  were  in  their  spiritual 
bodies,  which,  as  said  in  my  last  letter,  is  the  spirit- 
ually organized  form  of  man's  spirit  or  mind.  "  There 
is,"  says  the  Apostle,  u  a  natural  body,  and  there  is 
a  spiritual  body."  This  passage  ought,  if  it  favored 
my  opponent's  idea,  to  read  not  that  there  is,  but 
that  there  will  be  a  spiritual  body.  But  if  my  friend 
will  look  at  the  passage  fairly,  without  having  his 
mind  biassed  by  a  preconceived  idea  about  a  future 
general  resurrection  of  dead  bodies,  he  will  see  that 
it  is  in  the  present  tense,  "  There  is  a  spiritual  body," 
which,  as  the  soul,  is  within  the  natural  body,  and 
that  it  is  this  body  which  rises  when  the  other  dies. 
Compare  this  idea  with  the  supposed  resurrection 
of  dead  bodies  at  some  unknown  period  in  the  fu- 
ture, and  you  will  instantly  see  how  full  of  practical 
wisdom  the  one  is  over  the  other ;  and  at  the  same 
time  you  will  behold  how  the  Apostle,  in  chap.  xv. 
of  the  Corinthians,  corroborates  and  illustrates  the 
doctrine  of  the  New  Church  on  the  resurrection  of 
man  from  the  dead. 

But  what  are  the  passages  my  opponent  adduces 
to  confirm  this  doctrine  that  the  dead  body  will  some 
day  or  other  rise  from  the  grave,  and  then  be  changed 
into  a  spiritual  body  ?  I  beg  your  numerous  readers 
calmly  to  consider  with  me  the  passages  CL  D.  has 
adduced,  in  order  that  we  may  come  to  a  right  un- 
derstanding of  their  divine  meaning. 


THE  SPIRITUALLY  DEAD.  157 

1.  "All  that  are  in  the  qrnrr?  shall  hoar  his  voice 
and  stiall  come  forth,  they  that  have  done  good  unto 
the  resurrection  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil 
unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation  "  (John  v.  28, 
29).  In  this  passage  we  have  to  attend  to  three 
things,  that  it  may  be  rightly  understood: — 1.  Who 
are  the  dead  ?  2.  What  are  the  graves  ?  3.  When 
shall  they  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  ? 

First )  The  dead  are  not  dead  bodies,  but  pantcs  oi 
(masculine),  that  is,  u  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins ;  " 
or,  like  the  Prodigal,  dead  as  to  the  spiritual  life,  but 
not  dead  as  to  the  body.  The  dead  in  this  sense  can 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  because  by  the 
power  of  redeeming  love  from  which  the  Lord  lu-ro 
speaks,  his  voice  could  reach  and  affect  all,  and  thus 
raise  them  from  the  death  of  sin,  and  also  from  the 
death  of  the  body,  because  it  is  by  the  power*of  his 
resurrection  that  we  are  raised  in  both  senses.  But 
a  dead,  decomposed  body,  as  a  lump  of  clay,  could 
not  possibly  hear.  Surely  my  opponent  will  not  for 
a  moment  maintain  that  a  lump  of  clay,  or  a  heap 
of  dust,  can  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  ?  If 
he  maintain  this  position,  I  reply  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, "  Strange  infatuation  !  abominable  error  !  " 

Secondly,  What  are  the  graves  ?  Let  the  Lord 
himself  answer  this  question.  He  calls  the  Phari- 
sees "  whited  sepulchres  "  (Matt,  xxiii.  27),  and  says 
"they  are  as  graves  which  appear  not,"  etc.  (Luke 
xi.  44).  Here  the  Lord  plainly  teaches  us  that  yrc.rt  .s 
are  unregenerate  men,  who  are  not  only  defid  but 
buried  "  in  trespasses  and  sins."  The  external  form 
or  body  of  man  dead  in  sin,  is,  therefore,  as  a  grave ; 
14 


158  THE  NEW-CHURCH    THEOLOGY. 

for  a  grave  being  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all 
uncleanness  (Matt,  xxiii.  27),  is  the  proper  emblem 
of  such  a  state  and  of  such  a  man.  The  u  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God  "  being  the  Divine  Truth  from  the 
Lord  in  his  glorified  Humanity,  can  reach  all  such 
and  give  them  the  means  of  salvation ;  but  not  to 
decomposed  bodies  in  the  grave. 

Thirdly,  When  shall  they  hear?  Not,  as  my  op- 
ponent imagines,  at  some  distant  period  called  the 
general  resurrection,  but  NOW  ;  for  in  verse  25  it  is 
expressly  said  u  the  "hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when 
the  dead  (not  dead  bodies,  but  necroi,  in  the  mascu- 
line) shall  hear,"  etc.  The  dead  were  then  hearing 
whilst  the  Saviour  was  speaking  ;  and  they  now  hear 
by  the  power  of  the  Word,  which  can  convince  a 
sinner  and  awaken  him  from  the  death  of  sin.  These 
words  also  show  forth  the  Lord's  resurrection  power, 
that  at  death  all  will  come  forth  out  of  the  external 
earthly  form,  or  body,  which  is  as  a  grave,  the  good 
to  the  resurrection  of  life,  and  the  evil  to  the  resur- 
rection of  damnation. 

My  respected  opponent  who  is  not  pledged  to 
maintain  error,  will  now,  I  think,  see  how  superior 
in  every  way  the  New-Church  doctrine  is  on  the 
resurrection,  to  that  of  the  common  notion  founded 
in  ignorance  and  fallacy. 

2.  "And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of 
the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and 
some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  (Dan. 
xii.  2.)  x  This  passage  teaches  the  same  great  truth 
as  the  one  we  have  just  considered.  To  sleep  in  the 
dust  signifies  to  be  in  a  low,  sensual  state  of  wicked- 


THE  SPIRITUALLY  RESURRECTED.         159 

ness,  living  only  to  the  body  and  for  the  body, 
u  fulfilling  (as  the  Apostle  says)  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh."  To  awake  from  this  state,  is  to  come  forth 
unto  everlasting  life  ;  but  those  who  at  the  death  of 
the  body,  are  not  regenerated,  come  forth  to  shame, 
etc.  It  is  admitted  that  this  passage  docs  not  refer 
to  a  general  resurrection,  because  it  is  said  "many," 
and  not  all  that  sleep,  etc. 

3.  "Thy  dead  (men)  shall  live,  together  with  my 
dead  body  shall  they  arise  "  (Isaiah  xxiv.  10).  A 
little  consideration  will  put  this  passage  in  its  right 
light.  At  verse  14  it  is  said,  "They  are  dead,  thej 
shall  not  live  ;  they  are  deceased,  they  shall  not 
rise."  Now  here  in  the  same  chapter  the  dead  are 
said  not  to  rise.  This  plainly  shows  that  a  general 
resurrection  is  not  here  treated  of  at  all.  But  the 
text  and  context  are  clearly  shown  by  Bishop  Lowth 
to  signify  the  deliverance  of  the  Israelites,  or  the 
people  of  God  represented  by  them,  from  a  state  of 
the  lowest  depression.  But  a  more  specific  view  of 
this  passage  teaches  us  that  thereby  is  represented 
the  resurrection  of  the  people  of  God  from  a  state 
of  spiritual  death  to  a  state  of  spiritual  life.  "  Thy 
dead  shall  live"  denotes  that  those  "dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins  "  will  be  regenerated  and  live,  or  be 
saved.  "Together  with  my  dead  body  shall  they 
arise,"  does  not  mean  the  material  body,  but  the 
"  body  of  sin"  (Rom.  vi.  6),  or  the  "body  of  death  " 
(Rom.  vii.  24) ;  also  "  the  vile  body  "  (Phil.  iii.  21). 
For  this  body  is  the  spiritual  body  of  the  sinful  or 
unregenerated  spirit,  which,  so  long  as  it  is  in  its 
unrcgenerate  state,  is  a  body  "  of  sin,"  "  of  death," 


160  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

and  "  vile  ;  "  but  when  regenerate  it  rises  to  new- 
ness of  life,  and  is  "fashioned  like  unto  Christ's 
glorious  body."  This  passage,  therefore,  in  Isaiah, 
yields,  as  Bishop  Lowth,  Locke  and  others  have 
demonstrated,  no  countenance  whatever  to  the  no- 
tion of  a  resurrection  of  dead  bodies. 

The  passage  in  Job  does  not  in  like  manner  refer 
to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  body,  but  to  a  re- 
newed state  of  health  which  Job  subsequently  en- 
joyed (chap.  xlii.  5),  and  in  which  he  saw,  that  is, 
acknowledged >  his  Eedeemer.  For  the  terms  worms 
and  body,  printed  in  italics,  are  not  in  the  Hebrew, 
and  should  not  be  in  the  version.  Besides,  Job  says 
expressly,  in  opposition  to  the  common  notion  that 
dead  bodies  will  some  time  or  other  rise  again  from 
the  grave,  "  He  that  goeth  down  to  the  grave  shall 
come  up  no  more."  (Job  vii.  9.) 

My  next  letter  will  be  on  "Heaven  and  Hell,"  or 
the  nature  of  the  Life  after  Death. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  right  truly, 

A.y. 


LETTER  XII. 
THE  LIFE  AFTER  DEATH. 

: — As,  after  a  careful  perusal,  I  cannot 
discover  in  my  opponent's  last  letter  any 
argument  against  the  positions  from  Scrip- 
ture and  reason  on  which  the  Church  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  bases  its  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection,  I 
must  leave  the  subject  to  the  calm  consideration  of 
your  intelligent  readers ;  entreating  them  not  to 
allow  the  prejudiced  cry  of  "  Swedenborgianism  "  to 
deter  them  from  examining  the  subject  in  the  light 
of  Scripture  and  rational  truth.  For  the  real  ques- 
tion is,  not  whether  the  doctrine  advanced  be  "  Swe- 
denborgianism," but  whether,  according  to  the  first 
postulate  agreed  on  between  us  at  the  commencement 
of  this  discussion,  it  be  founded  on  Scripture  and  con- 
firmed by  its  testimony. 

Having  in  my  two  last  letters  presented  to  your 
numerous  and  intelligent  readers  a  brief  statement 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Church  on  the  important 
subject  of  Death  and  the  Resurrection,  I  now  pro- 
ceed to  speak  on  the  nature  of  the  Life  after  Death, 
and  on  Heaven  and  Hell.  This,  it  must  be  admitted, 
is  a  most  deeply  interesting  subject,  and  I  doubt  not 
that  every  serious  reader  will  be  concerned  to  know 
what  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  has  to  say 
from  Scripture  and  from  rational  considerations  on 
14*  L  161 


162  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

this  solemn  question.  It  is  natural  that  a  man  in 
his  right  mind  should  earnestly  desire  to  know  some- 
thing on  which  he  can  Scripturally  and  rationally 
repose  as  to  the  Life  after  Death  ;  and  therefore  I 
am  most  happy  to  be  permitted,  through  your  liber- 
ality and  kindness,  to  present  to  your  readers  the 
following  doctrinal  statement : — 

1.  The  New  Church  teaches,  from  express  decla- 
rations and  inferences  drawn  directly  from  the  Word 
of  God,  that  man  rises  in  the  spiritual  world  im- 
mediately after  the  death  of  his  material  body. 
This  is  evident  from  the  parable  of  the  Rich  Man 
and  Lazarus,  which  the  Lord  spake  in  order  to  teach 
us  about  man:s  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  his 
subsequent  state  either  of  happiness  or  misery. 
That  there  is  no  long  interval,  as  is  commonly  sup- 
posed, of  nobody  knows  how  many  thousands  of 
years,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  Lazarus  im- 
mediately at  death  was  carried  by  angels  into  Abra- 
ham's bosom,  or  heaven ;  and  that  the  rich  man, 
although  u buried"  as  to  his  natural  body,  was,  as 
to  his  spirit,  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  suffering  the 
consequences  of  his  evil  life  whilst  in  the  natural 
world.  That  the  resurrection  which  both  experi- 
enced was  a  resurrection  of  the  spirit,  or  of  the 
''spiritual  body,"  and  not  of  the^ natural  body,  is 
abundantly  evident.  That  no  resurrection  at  some 
final  day,  as  is  commonly  supposed,  was  contem- 
plated in  the  divine  mind  of  the  Speaker,  is  equally 
obvious  ;  for  the  Rich  Man  made  an  appeal  in  be- 
half of  his  brethren  still  living  in  the  world.  Again, 
the  Lord  said  to  the  thief  on  the  cross,  "  To-day 


THE  NEW  DOCTRINE  REASONABLE.      163 

shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise,"  which  plainly 
signifies  that  the  thief  would  rise  from  the  dead  im- 
mediately on  the  extinction  of  his  bodily  life.  In 
the  Old  Testament  we  read  that  the  spirit  of  Samuel 
was  seen,  soon  after  his  death,  by  Saul ;  and  that 
Samuel  declared  to  Saul  that  uon  the  morrow  he 
and  his  sons  should  be  with  him  "  (1  Sam.  xxviii. 
10)  ;  we  accordingly  find,  in  a  subsequent  chapter, 
that  Saul  and  his  sons  were  slain,  thus  verifying 
Samuel's  prediction. 

This  idea  of  man's  immediate  resurrection  from 
the  dead  in  the  world  of  spirits,  is  most  rational  and 
most  consoling,  and  at  the  same  time  has  in  its  favor 
the  common  unsophisticated  consent  of  all,  when 
not  allowing  their  thoughts  to  be  governed  by  an 
erroneous  doctrine.  For  what  is  more  rational  than 
the  idea  that  man  wTio  is  immortal,  and  created  to 
live  in  the  spiritual  world  forever,  should,  imme- 
diately on  the  extinction  of  his  bodily  life,  enter  upon 
his  spiritual  existence  ?  On  the  contrary,  what  is 
more  irrational  than  to  suppose  that  man,  created 
to  live  forever,  should,  at  death,  be  plunged,  as  Dr. 
Whately,  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  teaches  in  his 
sermons  on  u  Death  and  the  Kesurrection,"  in  an 
unconscious  sleep,  for,  it  may  be,  thousands  and 
thousands  of  years,  until  the  morning  of  the  sup- 
posed general  resurrection  ?  or  that  the  soul  should 
be  in  some  unknown  region  of  the  universe,  enjoy- 
ing no  perfect  existence  until  it  is  again  re-united 
with  its  material  tenement  ? 

The  former  idea  is  not  only  a  plain  deduction  of 
Scripture,  but  it  is  confirmed  by  numerous  analogies 


I 

164  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

in  creation,  which,  as  "  visible  things,"  represent  to 
us  the  "invisible  things  "  of  God's  kingdom.  (Eom. 
i.  20.)  The  "  corn  of  wheat  "  no  sooner  dies  in  the 
ground,  than  it  rises  again  (John  xii.  24) ;  the  cater- 
pillar no  sooner  dies  as  to  its  larva  state,  than  it 
rises  in  its  butterfly  state,  and  enjoys  a  very  superior 
existence,  analogous  to  man's  earthly  state,  his 
death  and  his  resurrection  ;  and  if  he  be  regenerate, 
to  his  heavenly  state  also.  The  death,  so  to  speak, 
of  the  day  is  its  midnight,  and  the  death  of  the  year 
is  its  midwinter ;  but  no  sooner  does  this  death  arrive 
than  a  new  day  and  a  new  year  commence.  Where- 
as, the  idea  of  an  unconscious  sleep,  has  no  analogies 
in  nature  to  confirm  and  illustrate  it.  The  Apostle 
clearly  teaches  this  same  idea  which  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  maintains,  when 
he  says,  "  We  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  [the  earthly  body]  were  dissolved,  we 
have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands 
[the  spiritual  body],  eternal  in  the  heavens,"  etc. 
(2  Cor.  v.  1,  2.)  Besides,  the  Apostle " says,  "For 
me  to  die  is  gain. "  (Phil.  i.  21.)  What  gain  would 
there  be  in  an  unconscious  sleep  ?  But  there  is  every 
gain  in  the  idea  of  the  resurrection  which  the  doc- 
trine of  the  New  Church  teaches. 

2.  The  New  Church  teaches  that  man  not  only 
rises  immediately  at  death,  but  that  he  rises  in  a 
perfect  human  form,  which  is  a  spiritual  body; 
"for,"  says  the  Apostle,  "there  .is  a  natural  body 
and  there  is  a  spiritual  body."  This  spiritual  body 
is  the  organized  form  of  man's  spirit,  which  consists 
of  spiritual  substances,  which  are  quite  distinct  from 


THE  HUMAN  FORM   OF   THE  SOUL.      165 

material  substances,  of  which  his  earthly  body  con- 
sists. These  substances  are  not  subject  to  the  laws 
and  conditions  of  the  material  world,  but  to  the  laws 
and  conditions  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  are  inde- 
structible and  immortal.  " There  are,"  says  the 
Apostle,  u  bodies  terrestrial  and  bodies  celestial ;" 
and  uthe  glory  of  the  terrestrial  is  one,  and  the 
glory  of  the  celestial  is  another,"  etc.  It  is  a  mere 
fallacy  to  suppose  that  man  is  a  man  by  virtue  of 
his  natural  body ;  he  is  a  man  by  virtue  of  his  ra- 
tional mind  or  spirit,  the  form  of  which  is  essentially 
human.  When  a  man  dies  he  quits  his  earthly  cov- 
ering, which  he  wants  no  more,  because  not  adapted 
to  h  is  new  state  of  existence.  Thus  we  read  of  Moses 
and  Elias  seen  with  the  Lord  at  his  transfiguration, 
as  being  "  two  men."  Angels  were  always  seen  in 
the  Word  of  God  as  men,  and  described  as  such. 
Man,  therefore,  at  his  resurrection  immediately  after 
death,  is  in  a  perfect  human  form,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  every  sense,  especially  of  the  senses  of  sight  and 
hearing,  in  a  far  more  exquisite  degree  than  when 
encumbered  with  a  body  of  clay.  And  this,  because 
the  proper  seat  of  all  sensation  is  not  the  earthly 
body,  but  the  spirit ;  for  when  the  spirit  quits  the 
body,  this  latter  has  no  sensation  whatever. 

3.  Man's  state  after  death  is  determined  by  his 
previous  life  in  the  world.  "He  that  is  righteous 
and  holy  will  be  righteous  and  holy  still ;  and  he 
that  is  filthy  and  unjust  will  be  filthy  and  unjust 
still"  (Rev.  xxii.  11)— as  explained  in  a  former 
letter.  According  as  a  man  lives  he  induces  an 
organization  in  the  spiritual  substances  of  his  soul 


166  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

or  spirit,  which  is  in  agreement  with,  his  nature,  or 
with  the  governing  love  or  principle  of  his  life.  If 
his  life  has  been  a  truly  Christian  life,  he  has  con- 
tracted a  nature  and  organized  his  spirit  for  good, 
and  he  goes  among  the  good  in  heaven ;  but  if  his 
life  be  evil,  he  has  contracted  a  nature  and  has  or- 
ganized his  spirit  for  evil,  and  he  becomes  the  hid- 
eous form  of  his  own  evil,  and  can  only  associate 
with  those  who  are  confirmed  in  evil — that  is,  with 
those  who  are  in  hell. 

Although  heaven  is  open  to  all,  none  on  the  part 
of  God  being  excluded,  for  He  wishes  all  to  come 
unto  Him  in  heaven  ;  but  the  evU  "  hate  the  light 
of  heaven,  and  will  not  come  into  it  because  their 
deeds  are  evil ;  "  they  consequently  shun,  of  their 
own  accord,  the  heavenly  world — as  they  have  not 
a  nature  which  can  sustain  the  life  of  love,  holiness 
and  happiness  of  heaven— and  betake  themselves  to 
the  abodes  of  darkness.  It  is  of  great  importance 
to  see  that  man's  soul  or  spirit  is  an  organized  form, 
receptive,  according  as  he  lives,  either  of  goodness 
from  God,  or  of  evil  from  hell ;  and  according  as  he 
has  lived  up  to  the  period  of  his  death,  so  he  re- 
mains. "Know  ye  not,"  say$  the  Apostle,  "that 
to  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his 
servants  ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey ;  whether  of  sin 
unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto  righteousness?" 
(Horn.  vi.  16.)  Forgiveness  of  sins  on  the  part  of 
God,  and  actual  salvation,  are  two  very  different 
things.  God  always  forgives,  as  forgiveness  and 
reconciliation  are  the  essential  attributes  of  his  di- 
vine mercy.  But  in  order  to  salvation,  man  must 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL    AHE    WITHIN.         167 

be  in  a  state  to  receive  the  divine  forgiveness.  So 
long  as  he  loves  evil  and  lives  in  it,  he  cannot  pos- 
sibly receive  God's  forgiveness  ;  but  immediately  he 
begins  to  shun  evil  because  it  is  sinful  against  God, 
or  when  he  begins  to  keep  God's  commandments,  he 
then  receives  God's  forgiveness  and  mercy,  and  is 
saved.  This  is  essential  to  be  known,  because  many 
think  that  they  can  be  admitted  into  heaven  through 
immediate  mercy  and  divine  forgiveness,  without 
having  previously  kept  God's  commandments  in 
their  daily  life,  or  having  constantly  shunned  evil 
in  thought  and  deed  as  a  sin  against  Him. 

4.  The  doctrine  of  the  New  Church  teaches  that 
heaven  is  very  near  to  man,  yea,  within  him,  if  in  a 
state  of  regeneration.  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  within  you"  (Luke  xvii.  21). 
Heaven,  therefore,  consists  chiefly  in  states  of  mind 
— in  states  of  love  to  God  and  to  the  neighbor.  And 
after  death  man  comes  into  heaven  amongst  angels, 
"or  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  just  in 
the  degree  in  which  heaven  was,  through  regenera- 
tion, formed  within  him  whilst  on  earth.  Whereas 
if  heaven  is  not  within  a  man,  hell  must  necessarily 
take  its  place,  since  a  man  cannot  spiritually  u  serve 
two  masters."  Hell  is  thus  not  only  very  near  an 
evil  man,  but  is  actually  within  him,  so  long  as  he 
does  not  repent  and  turn  away  from  the  evil  which 
he  loves  and  practises.  In  the  Gospel  we  read  of 
"evil  and  unclean  spirits,"  at  the  time  when  the 
Lord  was  in  the  world,  being  so  near  to  men  as  to 
take  possession  of  them  ;  and  if  the  Lord  had  not 
come  and  accomplished  redemption,  they  would  soon 


168  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

have  destroyed  mankind.  It  is  of  immense  impor- 
tance that  a  man  should  have  a  right  Scriptural  idea 
of  heaven  and  hell,  since  his  mind  is  thus  prepared 
to  receive  the  one  and  to  reject  the  other.  He  re- 
jects hell,  together  with  all  u  evil  and  unclean  spir- 
its," when  he  rejects  evil  as  suggested  to  his  mind, 
and  especially  when  he  resists  it  by  fighting  against 
it  and  overcoming  it.  This,  however,  he  cannot  do 
of  himself,  but  through  faith  in  the  Lord,  who  gives 
us  the  power  "to  overcome  even  as  He  overcame." 
For  ""without  Him  we  can  do  nothing; "  but  with 
Him  uwho  strengthens  us,"  we  can  do  all  things 
that  He  requires  us  to  do  for  our  salvation.  This 
fight  against  evil  is  the  "good  fight  of  faith"  of 
which  the  Apostle  speaks.  The  truth  thus  vigor- 
ously applied  to  the  life,  cleanses  us  from  ail  sin. 
This  truth,  as  it  comes  from  Him  who  only  is  the 
Truth,  is  called  in  Scripture,  amongst  other  appel- 
lations, the  "  blood  of  Christ  which  cleanses  us  from 
all  sin."  It  is  of  no  use  for  us  to  imagine  that  we 
have  any  saving  faith,  or  love,  or  holiness  within  us, 
unless  we  have  kept  the  Lord's  precepts,  or  shunned 
evil  as  sinful  against  Him.  "  Why  call  ye  me  Lord, 
Lord,  and  do  not  the  things  which  I  say  ?  " 

I  intended  to  speak  to  your  readers  about  "the 
fire  which  is  not  quenched  and  the  worm  that  dieth 
not,"  and  also  respecting  other  particulars  about 
heaven  ;  but  my  space,  I  find,  is  nearly  filled  up,  as 
I  intend,  according  to  your  kind  suggestion,  to  be 
more  brief  in  my  statements.  Permit  me,  however, 
to  state,  that  by  the  "  fire  of  hell,"  as  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  is  not  meant  material  fire,  such  as  we 


MEANING    OF  HELL-FIRE.  169 

have  in  our  furnaces  on  earth,  but  spiritual  fire, 
which  in  hell  consists  of  evil  loves  of  ever}'  kind,  as 
hatred,  revenge,  malice,  etc.,  which,  according  to 
the  law  of  correspondence  by  which  that  world  is 
governed,  are  manifested  in  external  objects  and 
phenomena  corresponding  to  the  evil  states  of  the 
spirits  to  which  they  relate.  Thus,  when  hatred, 
revenge,  envy,  etc.,  are  excited  into  activity,  tin-re 
appear  fires  of  various  kinds,  and  the  individuals 
concerned,  like  the  rich  man  in  the  parable,  appear 
to  be  burning  in  the  flames.  We  say  in  common 
language,  that  a  man  burns,  when  in  a  passion,  with 
anger  and  fury  ;  but  we  do  not  mean  that  he  burns 
with  material  fire,  but  with  mental  or  spiritual  fire. 
The  lusts  of  these  evil  loves  are  the  fires  which  are 
not  quenched  ;  and  the  u  worm  that  dieth  not"  is 
the  false  principle  which  is  in  connection  with  the 
evil  love.  In  a  good  sense  fire  signifies  pure  love, 
such  as  it  is  in  heaven  ;  but  in  a  bad  sense,  evil  love, 
such  as  it  is  in  hell.  But  more  will  be  said  on  the 
subject  of  heaven  and  hell  in  another  letter.* 
I  am  yours  right  truly, 

A.V. 

[#  For  a  full  and  interesting  account  of  Heaven,  its  inhabi- 
tants and  their  character,  its  social  arrangements,  its  habitations 
and  scenery,  its  government  and  laws,  its  employments  and  its 
joys,  and  numerous  other  things  which  Christians  (and  many 
who  are  not  Christians)  desire  to  know  something  about,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  Vol.  II.  of  the  Swedenborg  Library,  entitled 
"  Heaven."  And  for  a  rational,  intelligible  and  Scriptural  ac- 
count of  Hell,  he  is  referred  to  Barrett's  "  New  View  of  Hell." 
Both  works  published  by  E.  Claxton  &  Co.,  Philadelphia.] 
15 


LETTER  XIII. 

SOME   QUESTIONS  ABOUT  MAN'S  SPIRIT,  AND 
SPIRITUAL  SUBSTANCE,  ANSWERED. 
t 

i>IR  :— I  have  read  the  last  letter  of  C.  D.,  and 
also  that  of  his  friend  u  Amicus."  As  the 
letter  of  "  Amicus  "  contains  not  a  single 
grain  of  argument,  either  from  Scripture  or  reason, 
against  any  of  my  positions,  I  cannot  be  expected 
to  reply  to  his  vituperative  assertions.  This  would 
neither  promote  the  cause  of  Scriptural  truth  nor  of 
Christian  love.  I  must,  however,  express  my  sur- 
prise that  you  should  allow  me  to  be  called  a  "  Jes- 
uit," and  to  be  assailed  with  invectives  which  can 
only  injure  the  cause  of  my  opponent.  "  When  re- 
viled, revile  not  again,"  is  a  fixed  principle  of  con- 
duct in  the  true  Church  of  Christ,  or  in  the  Church 
of  the  New  Jerusalem  ;  and  on  this  principle  I  shall, 
through  the  Lord's  mercy,  conduct  this  discussion 
to  the  end. 

My  opponent,  C.  D.,  still  clings  to  the  dead  body 
of  clay,  as  though  it  were  the  man  himself.  He  ad- 
mits that  the  spirit  is  the  very  man,  and  that  at 
death,  like  Lazarus  and  Dives,  he  is  in  a  spiritual 
body  suited  to  his  new  state  of  existence.  *But  he 
still  maintains  that  the  dead  body  will  rise  again, 
although,  as  demonstrated  by  Locke  and  others,,  no 
such  resurrection  of  dead  bodies  is  mentioned  any- 
where in  Scripture.  Why,  then,  does  he  still  cling 

170 


THE  DOOM   OF  FALSE  DOCTRINES.        171 

to  this  unscriptural  idea  ?  Because  it  is  in  the 
popular  theology,  and  to  deny  it  would  be  to  risk 
popularity.  But  what  is  popularity  compared  with 
the  Truth  itself?  It  is  a  mere  bubble.  Many  things 
in  religion  have  been  popular  in  one  age  which  have 
been  rejected  in  another.  What  is  u  the  praise  of 
men  "  compared  with  the  u  glory  of  God  "  ?  Is  the 
dogma  of  predestination,  as  expressed  in  the  formula 
of  Calvin,  "aliis  vita  ceterna,  aliis  damn* (tin  imcordi- 
natur,"  that  is,  u  to  some  eternal  life  is  pre-ordained, 
to  others  damnation  "—is  this  dogma,  once  so  pop- 
ular and  so  orthodox,  any  longer  so  popular  ?  The 
same  fate  will  erelong  attend  every  other  erroneous 
dogma,  even  that  under  consideration,  the  resurrec- 
tion of  a  dead  body. 

For  let  it  be  well  observed,  that  the  resurrection 
of  man  from  the  dead  and  the  resurrection  of  a  dead 
body  are  two  very  different  things.  u  The  spirits 
of  just  men,"  the  Apostle  says,  are  already  made 
"perfect  in  heaven  ; "  what  need,  then,  have  they 
of  the  earthly  body  to  render  them  perfect  ?  "Was 
not  the  angel  who  spoke  with  John  (Rev.  xxii.  8, 
9),  one  of  the  prophets  who  kad  risen  from  the  dead  ? 
What  would  that  angel,  who  on  earth  had  been  a 
prophet,  have  said,  had  John  asked  him  whether  he 
was  not  waiting  to  be»  clothed  again  with  his  dead 
body,  at  the  period  of  the  supposed  general  resur- 
rection ?  He  would  have  said,  "  Thou  dost  err,  not 
knowing  the  Scripture,  nor  the  power  of  God."  u  I 
am  now  in  my  spiritual  body,  and  I  require  the  dead 
body  left  in  the  earth  no  more  ;  it  is  not  suited  to 
my  heavenly  state  ;  I  shall  never  resume  it ;  I  am, 


172  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

as  Paul  says,  perfect  without  it."  That  Lazarus  (in 
John  xi.)  was  raised  by  the  Lord,  is  no  argument  in 
favor  of  a  supposed  general  resurrection  ;  for  he  died 
again. 

But  C.  D.  thinks  that  reason  or  logic  has  nothing 
to  do  with  a  plain  declaration  of  Scripture.  "  It  is," 
says  he,  "  a  pure  matter  of  faith."  But  he  should 
know  that  what  the  Word  of  God  teaches  is  su- 
premely rational  and  logical.  The  stronghold  of 
bigotry  is  the  antagonism  which  priestcraft  raises 
between  faith  and  reason.  Let  a  man  once  listen 
to  this,  and  he  is  on  his  way  to  the  darkness  of 
Popery,  and  every  species  of  idolatry  ;  even  that  of 
relics  and  of  dead  men's  bones,  can  be  crammed 
down  his  throat. 

I  will  now  address  myself  to  the  questions  which 
C.  D.  proposes  for  my  consideration. 

1.  Of  what  shape  is  the  organized  form  of  man's 
spirit  ? 

Answer— perfectly  human.  The  human  form,  as 
demonstrated  in  my  former  letters,  is  the  form,  not 
only  of  man's  earthly  body,  but  of  his  spirit  also. 
Hence  Moses  and  Elias-  at  the  transfiguration  were 
seen  in  the  human  form  as  u  two  men. "  The  angel 
who  spoke  with  John  (Rev.  xxii.  9),  and  who  had 
been  a  prophet,  was  in  the  human  shape  or  form. 
The  spirit  of  Samuel  was  seen  in  the  human  shape 
(1  Sam.  xxviii.  14),  and  all  angels  seen  in  Scripture 
are  described  as  men.  Reason  also  shows  that  the 
human  form  is  the  perfection  of  forms,  since  in  it- 
self it  is  the  form  of  love  and  wisdom,  or  a  man. 
For  love  and  wisdom,  or  goodness  and  truth,  or 
charity  and  faith,  do  not  exist  as  mere  abstractions, 


MANY  PARTS  IN  ONE  WHOLE.  173 

but  in  forms,  which  are  angels  and  regenerate  men. 
The  only  source  of  these  divine  principles  is  the  Lord 
himself 'from  whom  they  come  ;  and  they  are  re- 
ceived by  us  from  Him,  in  the  degree  that  we  believe 
in  Him  and  love  Him  by  keeping  his  precepts. 

2.  My  opponent  asks,  "Is  this  organization  one 
individual  whole  ?  and  if  so,  how  can  it  be  called 
an  organization,  or  of  many  parts  ?  " 

This  organization  is  not  uone  individual  whole," 
understood  in  the  sense  of  numerically  or  simply 
one  thing.  But  like  the  human  body  which  is  one, 
yet  consisting  of  innumerable  parts  so  organized 
and  arranged  as  to  constitute  a  harmonious  one. 
The  human  mind  in  like  manner  is  not  simply  one, 
but  it  consists  of  innumerable  faculties,  so  organized 
and  arranged  as  by  their  harmonious  action  to  con- 
stitute a  one.  For  the  Scriptural  and  also  the  phil- 
osophical idea  of  a  one,  or  a  whole,  is  not  that  of 
simply  or  numerically  one,  but  of  a  one  or  whole 
consisting  of  many  parts  and  particles.  Thus  "  one 
fold,"  of  which  the  Lord  is  the  Shepherd,  involves 
the  idea  of  innumerable  members  so  arranged  and 
so  actuated  by  one  principle  of  love  to  Him,  as  to 
constitute  a  perfect  harmonious  whole.  When  the 
Lord  said,  "One  thing  thou  lackest,"  He  did  not, 
as  is  evident  from  his  subsequent  words,  mean  one 
thing  only,  but  all  the  perfections  and  graces  neces- 
sary to  form  the  truly  Christian  life. 

3.  "What  are  the  properties  of  a  spiritual  sub- 
stance ?  " 

The  properties  of  a  spiritual  substance  are  not  to 
be  thought  of  or  derived  from  material  substances, 


174  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

but  from  the  essential  idea  of  substance  in  its  origin, 
which  is  God.  For  that  God  is  a  substance  or  a 
hypostasis  (Heb.  i.  3),  is  declared  both  by  the  Apostle 
and  by  the  common  orthodoxy  as  expressed  in  the 
Athanasian  Creed.  It  is  evident  to  a  mind  of  any 
elevated  thought,  that  no  material  property  or  at- 
tribute can  be  predicated  of  God.  He  is  infinitely 
above  such  properties,  although  He  fills  them  with 
his  life  and  directs  them  in  their  usefulness  by 
his  wisdom.  Now,  abstractly  from  matter,  Goodness 
from  God  is  the  essential  substance  of  all  things 
which  are  according  to  the  order  of  God,  and  Truth 
is  the  Form  of  that  substance.  That  God  created 
all  tilings  from  Love  or  from  essential  Goodness,  as 
from  a  principle  or  end,  cannot  be  denied.  Hence, 
everything  that  He  created  was,  before  the  Fall, 
"very  good."  "  The  Word  by  which  all  things 
were  created,"  involves  and  confirms  what  is  here 
said.  ( John  i.  1-4.) 

Do  not,  I  beseech  you,  think  of  the  Word  or  the 
Divine  Truth  as  vox  et  preterea  nihil,  but  think  of  it 
as  of  the  most  Substantial  Thing  in  the  universe. 
For  that  which  creates  must  be  more  substantial 
than  that  which  is  created.  The  properties,  there- 
fore, of  what  is  Good  and  True,  are  the  properties 
of  a  spiritual  substance.  Thus,  all  the  attributes 
which  we  ascribe  to  Goodness,  we  may  ascribe  to  a 
spiritual  substance.  Hence,  mercy,  charity,  faith, 
justice,  kindness,  chastity,  etc.,  are  the  properties 
of  a  spiritual  substance,  or  what  amounts  to  the 
same  thing,  of  man's  spirit ;  for  these  are  by  no 
means  the  properties  of  his  body,  which  is  a  material 
substance.  It  is  a  great  fallacy  to  suppose  that  th£y 


LAWS  OF  SPIRITUAL   SUJ1  STANCE.         175 

are  the  properties  of  bis  body.  Tbey  belong  essen- 
tially to  his  mind,  which,  as  C.  D.  admits,  is  not  mate- 
rial, but  spiritual ;  consequently  they  are  the  proper- 
ties of  a  spiritual  substance.  If  a  spiritual  substance 
be  contrary  to  God's  order,  that  is,  if  it  be  evil,  as 
in  hell  with  devils,  and  on  earth  with  unregenerate 
men,  the  properties  we  then  ascribe  to  them  are  what 
is  evil  and  false,  instead  of  what  is  good  and  true. 

4.  "  What  are  the  laws  and  conditions  of  spiritual 
substances  ?  " 

The  laws  of  spiritual  substance  are  the  laws  of 
the  human  mind  and  of  its  operations.  For  the 
mind,  as  before  said,  is  a  spiritual  substance.  If, 
then,  we  know  by  what  law  we  exercise  volition  and 
thought,  we  know  the  essential  laws  of  spiritual  sub- 
stances. That  we  exercise  volition  and  thought  from 
the  influx  and  operation  of  life  into  us  from  God, 
cannot  be  denied  by  a  Christian.  For  "  in  Him  we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being."  Then,  the  first 
law  of  spiritual  substances  is,  that  they  are  actuated 
by  a  life  and  power  superior  to  themselves.  Mate- 
rial substances  are  also  actuated  by  life  from  God, 
but  in  a  lower  degree  ;  as  the  body  which  is  man's 
material  world,  is  actuated  by  life  from  his  spirit. 

A  second  law  of  spiritual  substances  is,  that  they 
are  actuated  according  to  the  nature  of  their  forms. 
If  these  are  in  order,  that  is,  if  they  are  in  harmony 
with  the  spirit  of  life  operating  into  them  from  God, 
good  in  every  form,  as  justice,  humanity,  holiness, 
etc.,  is  the  result.  But  if  these  forms  are  perverse, 
which  is  the  case  when  a  man  does  not  obey  the 
precepts  of  God,  but  lives  an  evil  life,  then  every 
kind  of  evil  to  which  the  man  may  be  prone,  is  the 


176  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

result.  These  are  some  of  the  laws  of  spiritual 
substances ;  the  state  in  which  they  are,  is  under- 
stood by  their  condition.  These  laws  are  also  the 
laws  of  essential  freedom,  by  which  a  man  deter- 
mines himself  either  for  good  or  for  evil,  "life  or 
death,  the  blessing  or  the  curse."  (Deut.  xxviii.) 
But  my  space  forbids  me  to  enlarge. 

5.  "Has  the  spiritual  body  organs  of  sense  ?  and 
if  so,  how  can  the  spiritual  be  sensible  at  one  and 
the  same  time  ?  " 

Certainly,  the  organs  of  sense  are  the  organs  of 
life  ;  and  as  the  spiritual  body,  or  the  spiritual  form 
of  the  soul,  is  the  seat  of  life  in  man,  it  follows  that 
it  has  organs  of  sense,  of  which  the  organs  of  sense 
in  the  material  body  are  merely  corporeal  instru- 
ments, by  which  the  spirit  is  capable  of  receiving 
external  impressions,  and  of  holding  communication 
with  worldly  things.  My  friend  C.  D.  well  knows 
that  all  sensation,  whether  it  be  that  of  sight,  hear- 
ing, smell,  taste  or  touch,  belongs  properly  to  the 
spirit  of  man.  and  not  to  his  body,  except  by  deri- 
vation from  his  spirit.  Thus,  when  the  body  dies, 
it  has  no  sensation  whatever.  The  organs  of  sense, 
therefore,  by  which  sensation  is  experienced,  belong 
properly  to  the  spirit  and  not  to  the  body.  The 
spirit  has,  consequently,  when  separated  from  the 
body,  organs  of  sense  far  more  exquisite  than  when 
clothed  with  the  earthly  body.  This  is  also  proved 
by  Scripture,  from  which  it  is  clear  that  organs  of 
sense  are  ascribed  to  Moses  and  Elias  (Matt.  xvii. 
3),  to  the  spirit  of  Samuel  (1  Sam.  xxviii.  14),  and 
to  others  who  had  been  men  upon  earth. 

I  am  yours  right  truly,  A.  V. 


LETTEH  XIV. 

FUTURE  REWARDS  AND  PUNISHMENTS 
EXPLAINED. 

IK  :— The  subject  of  Future  Rewards  and 
Punishments  is  considered  by  every  reflect- 
ing mind  as  of  immense  importance.  For 
if  properly  understood,  this  subject  will  have  great 
practical  influence  on  our  life  and  conduct  in  this 
our  probationary  state.  "Whatsoever,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "  we  sow  /iere,  we  shall  reap  hereafter ;  if 
we  sow  to  the  flesh,  we  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  cor- 
ruption ;  but  if  we  sow  to  the  spirit,  we  shall  of  the 
spirit  reap  life  everlasting."  That  is,  if  we  live  in 
the  love  of  self  and  of  the  world,  which  is  "  to  live 
to  the  flesh,"  we  shall  hereafter  come  into  states  of 
misery  and  despair,  which  is  hell ;  but  if  we  live 
here  in  the  love  of  the  Lord  and  of  our  neighbor, 
which  is  "to  live  after  the  spirit,"  we  shall  here- 
after reap  life  everlasting  and  come  into  heaven. 
Here  the  punishment  of  an  evil  life  and  the  reward 
of  a  good  life,  are  plainly  set  before  us.  Nothing 
can  be  more  simple.  The  Apostle  also  plainly  shows 
us  what  it  is  to  "  sow  to  the  flesh," — it  is  to  live  "  in 
adultery,  fornication,  uncleanness,  lasciviousness, 
idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance,  emulations, 
wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envyings,  murders, 
revelling*,  and  such  like  ;  of  the  which  I  tell  you 
M  177 


178  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

before,  as  I  have  told  you  in  time  past,  that  they 
who  do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God."  He  shows  us  also  plainly  what  it  is  "to 
sow  to  the  spirit," — it  is  to  live  in  love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness, 
temperance,  etc.  (Gal.  v.  19-23.)  Here,  then,  the 
definition  is  clearly  stated.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
what  is  meant  by  "sowing  to  the  flesh,"  and  also 
by  "  sowing  to  the  spirit."  To  live  in  the  internal 
or  "  inward  man,  which  rejoices  in  the  law  of  God  " 
(Rom.  vii.  22),  is  to  "walk  in  the  spirit ; "  but  to 
live  in  the  external  man  only,  is  "  to  fulfil  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,"  the  end  of  which  is  corruption  and 
spiritual  death. 

But  in  order  to  present  the  subject  of  future  re- 
wards and  punishments  in  a  rational  as  well  as  in  a 
Scriptural  light,  it  will  be  necessary  to  proceed  in  a 
certain  order,  and  to  arrange  our  remarks  under  cer- 
tain heads,  which  we  shall  separately  discuss  and 
elucidate. 

And  first,  in  order  to  see  this  subject  in  its  true 
light,  we  must  begin  with  proper  views  of  the  Deity, 
and  his  design  in  creating  man. 

It  will  at  once  be  admitted  that  the  Divine  Nature 
is  infinite  Love,  Wisdom,  and  Power.  For  our  "  Sa- 
viour God  is  Love,"  and  "He  is  Light,"  and  "He 
hath  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth." 

Secondly. — It  will  be  granted  that  the  Divine  Na- 
ture is  unchangeable;  "He  change th  not,"  and 
"there  is  no  shadow  of  turning  in  Him." 

Thirdly.— It  will  also  be  granted  that  the  laws  of 


THE  END   OF  MAN'S  CREATION.  179 

his  Providence  by  which  He  acts,  are,  like  his  Di- 
vine Nature,  unchangeable. 

Fourthly. — It  will  appear  to  the  reflecting  mind 
that  the  end  for  which  God  has  created  man  is,  that 
he  may  be  "  a  partaker  of  his  Divine  Nature  "  (2 
Peter  i.  4),  become  an  angel,  and  be  happy  in  lu-:n  «  n 
forever.  This  is  evident  from  the  nature  of  his  Di- 
vine Love,  which  cannot  possibly  contemplate  any 
other  end ;  and  from  the  nature  of  his  Divine  Wis- 
dom and  Power,  which  can  only  direct  all  his  opera- 
tions to  the  accomplishment  of  that  end. 

These  propositions  are  so  Scriptural  and  rational 
that  they  bear  with  them  the  evidence  of  their  own 
Truth,  and  can  scarcely  be  disputed  by  any  Chris- 
tian man. 

The  nature  of  rewards  and  punishments  iu  this 
life  is  well  known.  Man,  as  a  subject  of  civil  society, 
is  rewarded,  if  he  is  a  good  citizen,  with  protection, 
respect  and  honor.  He  is  thus  rewarded  in  propor- 
tion as  he  lives  according  to  the  laws  of  civil  order 
established  in  his  country.  And  in  proportion  as  he 
becomes  useful  to  his  fellow-citizens,  he  is  further  re- 
warded with  rank,  dignity,  eminence  and  opulence. 
But  if  he  violates  these  laws  he  is  punished  either 
with  imprisonment,  disgrace,  fines  and  banishment, 
or  with  death.  The  laws  of  civil  order  are,  if  wise 
and  just,  founded  upon  the  Divine  Commandments. 

Again,  as  a  subject  of  moral  society,  a  man  is 
honored,  beloved,  and  thus  rewarded,  in  the  degree 
that  he  fulfils  the  conditions  of  moral  order,  and  acts 
according  to  its  requirements.  These  conditions  and 
requirements  have  relation  to  what  is  honorable 


180  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

(honestum)  in  the  internal,  and  to  what  is  decorous 
(decorum)  in  the  external.  These  two  conditions  of 
moral  order  cannot  be  separated  with  impunity.  A 
man  may  have  what  is  honorable — the  honestum — in 
his  intentions  ;  but  if  he  has  not  at  the  same  time 
the  decorous — decorum — in  his  external  manners  and 
deportment,  he  is  not  a  perfectly  moral  man,  and  he 
is  treated  accordingly.  All  the  laws  of  moral  order 
are  also  founded  upon  the  Divine  Commandments. 
Otherwise  they  have  no  life  and  spirit  within  them 
from  God,  and  are  a  mere  external  semblance  of  life 
without  any  spiritual  and  vital  principle.  Hence  it 
is  only  the  true  Christian  who  is  at  the  same  time 
the  true  citizen  and  the  truly  moral  and  spiritual 
man. 

The  rewards  of  the  moral  man  are  chiefly  the 
esteem,  honor,  confidence,  and  love  of  his  fellow- 
men,  and  especially  of  the  community  in  which  he 
moves,  and  in  which  his  uses  are  enjoyed.  If  he 
violates  the  requirements  of  moral  order,  all  which 
are  not  only  founded  on  the  Divine  precepts,  but 
sanctioned  by  pure  reason,  he  ceases  to  be  a  member 
of  moral  society,  and  is  punished  in  various  ways 
by  losing  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  society 
in  which  he  lives,  and  also  by  the  penalties  men- 
tioned above. 

Thus  there  are  rewards  and  also  punishments  at- 
tending the  civil  and  moral  life  of  man  in  the  world. 
If  he  does  well,  he  is  rewarded  in  innumerable  ways ; 
if  he  does  ill,  he  brings  punishment  in  various  forms 
upon  himself.  Again,  a  man  is  governed  by  phys- 
ical laws  as  to  the  health,  comfort  and  enjoyment 


LAWS  OF  PHYSICAL   HEALTH.  181 

of  his  bodily  life.  If  he  obeys  these  laws  he  is,  as  a 
general  rule,  vigorous,  strong,  and  in  the  enjoyment 
of  health  and  of  comfort.  But  if  he  neglects  or 
violates  them,  he  becomes  weak,  sickly,  diseased 
and  miserable.  Thus  the  appetite  for  food  and 
drink  is  regulated  by  certain  laws,  the  observance 
of  which  is  temperance,  and  ensures  to  us,  under  the  { 
Lord's  Providence,  the  enjoyment  of  health  and  the 
true  pleasures  of  bodily  life.  But  if  man  violates 
these  laws,  intemperance  ensues,  which  is  the  fruitful 
source  of  all  diseases,  and  of  bodily  distress  and 
misery. 

Now,  in  these  cases  the  laws  of  civil  and  of  moral 
order  as  to  their  essential  principles,  and  the  laws 
of  physical  order  relating  to  bodily  health,  are,  like 
their  Divine  Author,  unchangeable,  the  rewards  or 
blessings  of  which  follow  the  due  observance  of  these 
laws,  as  light  follows  the  rising  of  the  sun  ;  and  mis- 
eries, as  the  results  of  their  non-observance  or  of 
their  violation,  ensue  as  naturally  as  darkness  ensues 
on  the  setting  of  the  luminary  of  day.  By  the  ob- 
servance of  them  man  is  rewarded  with  every  good 
, suited  to  his  state  ;  but- by  the  violation  of  them  he 
is  requited  with  evil  in  various  forms,  as  punish- 
ments of  his  imprudent  and  wicked  conduct.  That 
is,  he  brings  evil  and  its  consequent  miseries  upon 
himself. 

Man  is  evidently  free  either  to  observe  these  laws 
or  to  break  them.  Thus,  as  to  the  health  of  his 
body,  it  may  also  be  said  that  "  life  and  death,  the 
blessing  and  the  curse,"  are  placed  before  him,  and 
all  the  laws  of  order,  as  well  as  the  results  of  expe- 
16 


182  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

rience  and  the  suffrages  of  his  own  reason  and  com- 
mon sense,  exhort  him  with  powerful  voice  to  obey 
them.  He  knows  the  consequences  of  disobedience ; 
but  unhappily,  led  by  voluptuous  pleasure,  or  as  the 
Apostte  expresses  it,  ''fulfilling  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh,"  he  violates  those  laws  of  health  and  suffers 
the  consequence.  This  is  his  punishment. 

Now  what  health  is  to  the  body,  and  the  laws  of 
physical  order  by  which  it  is  preserved  and  enjoyed, 
salvation  is  to  the  soul,  and  the  laws  by  which  it  is 
also  secured,  preserved  and  enjoyed.  There  is  a 
perfect  correspondence  between  the  health  of  the 
body  and  the  salvation  or  health  of  the  soul ;  for 
the  term  salvation  in  its  root  signifies  health.  But 
all  the  laws  of  spiritual  health  and  salvation  are 
revealed  to  us  in  the  Word  of  God.  But  for  this 
Revelation  man  could  know  nothing  certain  about 
the  laws  of  spiritual  health  or  the  salvation  of  his 
soul.  Yea,  he  would  not  know  that  the  soul  is  im- 
mortal ;  he  would  not  be  able  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  life  of  the  body.  He  would  think,  as  many  do 
even  now,  that  when  the  body  dies  it  is  all  over  with 
man,  or,  that  he  will  have  no  conscious  existence 
until  a  supposed  future  resurrection  of  dead  bodies, 
nowhere  taught  in  Scripture.  Still  less  would  he 
know  anything  truly  of  God.  In  so  great  darkness 
would  man  be  without  a  Revelation  from  God.  To 
this  Revelation  we  owe  all  the  knowledge  we  pos- 
sess, not  only  concerning  God  and  the  human  soul, 
but  all  the  essential  laws  and  principles  of  civil  and 
of  moral  order  are  from  the  same  source.  In  short, 
man  could  not  exist  as  a  man  without  a  Revelation 


LAWS   OF  SPIRITUAL   HEALTH.  183 

from  God  such  as  we  have  in  the  Word.  All  the 
ideas  which  Socrates,  Plato  and  Aristotle  had  re- 
specting God  and  the  human  soul,  and  all  the  con- 
fused notions  which  Cicero  and  Seneca  possessed 
respecting  the  natura  deorwn  and  tlu-  "//////•/,  were 
all  originally  from  Kevelation.  Their  ideas  were 
not  excogitated  by  themselves,  but  were  the  rem- 
nants of  a  prior  revelation  brought  from  Egypt, 
Phoenicia  and  Syria. 

The  precepts  and  truths  of  the  Word  are  conse- 
quently the  laws  of  spiritual  health,  or  of  the  salva- 
tion of  the  soul.  If  we  keep  these  laws  because 
they  are  God's  laws,  we  shall  assuredly  enjoy  here 
and  in  eternity  "  the  saving  health  of  God  "  (Psalm 
Ixvii.  2),  and  our  " health  will  spring  forth  speedily  " 
(Isaiah  Iviii.  8).  Here,  as  in  other  passages,  God's 
Word  employs  the  health  of  the  body  to  signify,  as 
said  above,  by  correspondence  between  what  is  spir- 
itual and  natural,  the  health  or  salvation  of  the  soul. 

All  these  divine  precepts  and  truths,  like  their 
Divine  Author,  are  unchangeable.  They  promise 
blessing  and  happiness  to  those  who  obey  them,  and 
suffering  and  misery  to  those  who  disobey.  Thus 
Che  Lord  says,  "If  ye  be  willing  and  obedient,  ye 
shall  eat  the  good  of  the  land  ;  but  if  ye  refuse  and 
rebel,  ye  shall  be  devoured  by  the  sword  ;  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it "  (Isaiah  i.  19, 
20).  And  this  is  the  universal  testimony  of  Scrip- 
ture. "Jesus,"  says  the  Apostle,  uis  the  author 
of  eternal  salvation  to  them  that  obey  him"  (Heb. 
v.  9).  "Obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice  "  (1  Sam. 
xv.  22).  Again :  u  Our  souls  are  purified  by  obeying 


184  THE   NEW-CHURCH    THEOLOGY. 

the  Truth  "  (1  Pet.  i.  32).,  Hence  it  abundantly  ap- 
pears that  the  rewards  and  punishments  affecting 
the  soul,  like  those  affecting  the  bodily  life,  do  not 
spring  from  any  arbitrary  appointment  on  the  part 
of  God,  or  from  any  decree  preordaining  or  predes- 
tinating some  to  happiness  and  others  to  misery ; 
or,  as  Calvin  has  expressed  it  in  his  a  Institutes  of 
Theology,"  u  aliis  vita  ceterna  aliis  damnatio  prceor- 
dinatur  " — which  being  interpreted,  means  that  "  to 
some  eternal  life,  to  others  damnation  is  foreor- 
dained." Awful,  dreadful  words  !  which  not  only 
make  God  the  author  of  evil  and  of  misery,  but  de- 
prive the  mind  of  all  intelligence  as  to  God's  deal- 
ings with  mankind,  and  especially  as  to  the  true 
nature  of  future  rewards  and  punishments,  ^"ext 
to  the  almost  inconceivable  fact  that  such  a  position 
should  have  been  maintained  by  any  human  mind, 
even  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  is  the  fact  that 
entire  churches,  such  as  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
should  have  believed  it,  and  adopted  it  from  the 
synod  of  Dort,  as  one  of  the  luminaries  of  Christian 
theology.  It  is  true  that  the  human  mind  at  the 
present  time  has,  to  a  great  extent  at  least,  grown 
out  of  this  most  impious  and  revolting  doctrine  ; 
nevertheless,  it  is  still  inwoven  in  Calvinistic  the- 
ology, and  prevents  the  mind  from  corning  into  the 
real  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments. 

Kothing,  then,  can  be  more  evident  than  that  all 
God's  operations,  both  in  the  preservation  of  the 
physical  and  in  the  salvation  of  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual universe,  are  conducted  according  to  fixed  and 


GOOD   ITS   OWN  REWARD.  185 

immutable  laws,  which  are  as  unchangeable  asl    n- 
self. 

All  good  which  we  receive  from  God,  who  is  the 
only  fountain  of  Good,  has  within  it  its  own  reward. 
As  fire  has  within  it  its  own  heat  and  warmth,  as 
light  has  within  it  its  own  evidence,  or  as  honey  its 
own  sweetness,  so  has  good  from  God  its  own  peac$, 
bliss  and  happiness  within  it.  They  cannot  be  sep- 
arated. In  like  manner,  all  evil  from  hell  which  has 
arisen  from  the  violation  of  God's  laws,  as  revealed 
in  his  Word,  has  within  it  its  own  punishment— its 
own  pain  and  misery.  When,  therefore,  we  receive 
good  from  God  by  a  life  of  faitli  in  Him  and  love  to 
Him,  we  receive  at  the  same  time  the  reward  which 
ever  accompanies  his  goodness.  But  this  goodness 
is  treasured  up  in  the  "  inward  man  which  rejoices 
in  the  law  of  God  "  (Rom.  vii.  22).  and  does  not  here 
come  forth  to  the  full  perception  and  enjoyment  of 
our  external  man.  Cumbered  necessarily  whilst  in 
this  life  with  many  earthly  cares,  and  with  many 
bodily  ailments  and  infirmities,  the  peace  and  bliss 
which  is  in  the  goodness  we  receive  from  God,  does 
not  come  out  fully  to  our  perception  and  enjoyment. 
All  that  can  be  experienced  whilst  here,  even  in  our 
best  states,  is  a  serenity,  contentment,  resignation 
and  peace  of  mind,  which  is  full  of  trust  and  confi- 
dence in  the  Lord,  that  He  in  his  mercy  is  ordering 
all  things  for  our  eternal  good.  The  very  cares, 
anxieties,  ailments  and  infirmities  to  which  we  are 
liable  in  this  life,  are  made,  as  a  means  of  spiritual 
training,  by  unerring  wisdom,  subservient  to  our 
eternal  happiness.  They  serve,  "as  the  harrow 
16* 


186  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

breaks  up  the  clods  "  (Hosea  x.  11),  to  break  up  our 
selfish  and  worldly  love  in  various  ways,  to  produce 
a  deeper  sense  of  humiliation,  and  of  our  own  help- 
lessness and  need  of  divine  mercy  and  assistance. 
They  also  serve  to  awaken  within  us  sympathy  and 
love  for  our  fellow-men,  and  thus  t©  promote  the  life 
of  genuine  charity,  or  a  pure  love  of  the  neighbor. 

But  after  death,  when  the  internal  comes  forth 
into  the  external — when  the  clog  of  mortality,  the 
u muddy  vesture  of  decay,"  and  u  all  sighing  and 
sorrow"  experienced  in  temptations,  shall  have 
passed  away,  the  light  and  love  in  the  internal 
"  shall  break  forth  as  the  morning,"  and  the  entire 
man,  both  as  to  his  internal  and  his  external  prin- 
ciples, will  be  full  of  peace  and  heavenly  happiness. 

Whereas  evil  and  its  pleasures,  called  the  u  pleas- 
ures of  sin,"  are  indulged  in  this  life  as  agreeable 
to  the  unregenerate,  external  mind,  which  does  not, 
during  its  indulgence,  feel  the  u  sting  of  death" 
which  is  within  it ;  this  venomous  sting,  however, 
which  is  also  often  experienced  in  this  life,  comes 
out  after  death,  and  proves  a  source  of  misery  in 
one  form  or  another  corresponding  to  its  nature. 
The  sweet  with  which  the  poison  is  covered  is  agree- 
able to  the  taste,  but  it  soon  begins  to  do  its  deadly 
work. 

Thus  it  is  an  eternal  law  of  divine  order,  that  as 
good  has  within  it  its  own  reward,  so  evil  has  within 
it  its  own  misery  and  punishment.  The  bringing 
forth  of  the  internals  into  the  externals  after  death, 
or  the  opening  and  disclosure  of  the  internals,  and 
the  manifestation  of  them  in  the  externals,  is  also  in- 
16* 


THE  EVIL   NATURE  REMAINS.  187 

.  volved  in  what  the  Lord  says  in  John  v.  29  :— u  They 
that  have  done  good  [or  who  have  good  in  the  in- 
ternal] shall  come  forth  unto  the  resurrection  of  life  ; 
and  they  that  have  done  evil  [or  who  have  evil  in 
the  internal],  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation  ;" 
because  the  disclosure  of  the  internals,  arid  the  mani- 
festation of  them  in  the  externals,  is  also  a  kind  of 
resurrection.  For  the  term  anastasis,  here  translated 
resurrection,  involves  the  idea  of  standing  up,  or  stand- 
ing out,  and  implies  the  manifestation  of  what  is  in- 
ternal or  hidden  in  what  is  external  or  manit'i 

Now  if  a  man  here  so  lives  as,  by  indulging  the 
pleasures  of  sin,  to  contract  an  evil  nature,  he,  when 
he  leaves  this  world,  takes  his  evil  nature  with  him  ; 
and  as  he  did  not  here  desire  to  change  that  nature 
by  employing  the  proper  means  for  the  purpose, 
which  are  faith  and  repentance,  his  nature  remains 
in  the  spiritual  world  not  only  unchanged,  but,  as 
to  its  ruling  principle,  unchangeable,  according  to 
that  divine  declaration  which  says,  "He  that  is  un- 
just let  him  be  unjust  still ;  and  he  that  is  filthy  let 
him  be  filthy  still  ;  and  he  that  is  righteous  let  him 
be  righteous  still ;  and  he  that  is  holy  let  him  be 
holy  still."  (Rev.  xxii.  11.)  Again,  u  Can  the 
Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots  ? 
then  may  ye  also  do  good  that  are  accustomed  to  do 
evil."  (Jer.  xiii.  23.)  Again,  u The  righteousness 
of  the  righteous  shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon  him. ' '  (Ezek.  x  viii. 
20.) 

Thus  man,  by  taking  with  him  at  death  his  own 
nature,  either  for  good  or  for  evil  contracted  during 


188  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

his  life  in  the  world,  continues,  according  to  the  im- 
mutable laws  of  God's  unchangeable  order,  to  love 
and  delight  in  that  nature,  whether  good  or  evil, 
which  he  has  from  his  free  choice  and  determination 
-  contracted  and  made  his  own.  Nor  is  he  willing  to 
part  with  it  or  to  change  it.  If  he  leave  the  world 
with  a  nature  corresponding  to  the  sheep  or  the 
lamb,  which  is  an  innocent  and  benevolent  nature, 
he  is  unwilling  to  change  it,  but  will  continue  to  de- 
light in  it  with  ever-increasing  pleasure  to  eternity. 
But  if  he  leave  the  world  with  a  nature  correspond- 
ing to  the  wolf  or  the  viper,  he  will  also  love  the 
nature  he  has  chosen  and  formed,  and  will  be  no 
more  willing  to  part  with  it  than  a  wolf  or  a  viper 
upon  earth  is  willing  to  change  its  nature.  Thus 
the  evil  man  takes  with  him  his  evil  nature,  and  en- 
deavors to  gratify  the  evil  delights  of  this  nature. 
Hence  the  thief  still  loves  to  defraud,  rob,  and  plun- 
der ;  the  revengeful  still  love  to  cherish  feelings  of 
revenge  and  malignity  ;  the  deceitful  still  love  to 
cherish  deceit  and  cunning  ;  the  licentious  still  love 
licentiousness  ;  the  slanderer  still  loves  to  backbite 
his  neighbor ;  the  envious  still  love  to  see  their 
neighbor  injured  and  in  distress  ;  the  lover  of  Mam- 
mon still  clings  to  his  god ;  the  idler  still  loves  his 
idleness,  and  the  despiser  of  God  still  loves  to  blas- 
pheme his  holy  name. 

Death  produces  no  change  in  the  nature  ;  but  by 
freeing  it  from  material  trammels  and  from  earthly 
conditions,  it  gives  it  freer  scope  for  the  exercise  of 
all  its  promptings,  activities,  and  passions.  But 
these  promptings,  passions,  and  activities  of  an  evil 


HOW  EVIL   IS  RESTRAINED.         -      189 

nature  must  be  checked  and  kept  in  subjection. 
Here  is  the  point  when  the  pleasures  of  sin  are 
changed  into  the  miseries  of  hell.  For  hell  is  noth- 
ing but  evil  desires  and  passions  ungratified,  re- 
strained, and  subdued, — contrary  to  the  will  and 
nature  of* the  unhappy  subject  in  whom  they  exist. 
The  lusts  of  evil  now  become  the  fire— not  material 
but  spiritual — "  which  cannot  be  quenched  ;  "  and 
the  false  principle  connected  with  those  evil  lusts  is 
u  the  worm  which  dieth  not." 

All  evil  is  subdued  by  the  punishment  inherent  in 
its  nature.  The  evil  designed  falls  back  upon  him 
who  designed  it.  u  His  mischief  shall  return  upon 
his  own  head,  and  his  violent  dealing  shall  come 
down  upon  his  own  pate."  (Psalm  vii.  16.)  The 
law  of  action  and  reaction  is  instantaneous  in  the 
spiritual  world.  And  by  this  law  it  is  that  evil  as 
it  becomes  active  is  instantly  subdued.  Thus  the 
old  law  of  "an  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth, 
and  burning  for  burning,  wound  for  wound,  stripe 
for  stripe  "  (Exod.  xxi.  24,  25),  is  the  law  of  retalia- 
tion, or  of  action  and  reaction,  by  which  evil  is  sub- 
dued, and  which  in  the  spiritual  world  is,  as  said 
above,  instantaneous  in  its  operation.  The  same 
law  also  obtains  in  respect  to  good.  Every  good 
feeling  and  affection  carried  out  towards  others,  is 
instantly  rewarded  by  the  inexpressible  delight  which 
everything  good  from  the  Lord  bears  within  it.  This 
law  is  thus  expressed  by  the  Lord  : — "  Give,  and  it 
shall  be  given  to  you  again  ;  good  measure  pressed 
down,  shaken  together,  running  over,  shall  men  give 
into  your  bosom."  (Luke  vi.  38.) 


190        .     THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

From  what  has  been  said,  we  conclude  that  Fu- 
ture Rewards  and  Punishments  are  under  the  con- 
trol of  divine  laws  which  originate  in  infinite  Love 
and  Wisdom.  These  laws,  we  have  seen,  are  fully 
revealed  in  the  Word,  and  are,  like  Him  from  whom 
they  come,  unchangeable.  By  complying  with  these 
laws  we  inherit  the  blessings  annexed  to  their  ob- 
servance ;  but  by  di-sobedience  and  rebellion  we  inev- 
itabty  incur  the  curse  and  punishment. 

Finally,  let  us  never  forget  that  the  power  by  which 
we  can  obey  these  laws,  comes  exclusively  from  the 
Lord,  "without  whom  we  can  do  nothing;"  and 
that  He  effected  the  work  of  Redemption  and  glort^ 
fied  his  Humanity  chiefly  that  we  might  have  the 
power  to  obey  his  precepts,  and  thus  be  saved. 
I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours,  etc., 

A.Y. 


LETTER  XY. 

GUARDIAN  ANGELS  AND  EVIL  SPIRITS,  AND 
THEIR  PROXIMITY  TO  MAN. 

: — The  subject  of  Guardian  Angels  and 
Evil  Spirits,  and  their  proximity  to  Man, 
must  be  deeply  interesting  to  the  thought- 
ful mind  ;  because  it  is  not  only  so  fully  revealed  in 
the  Scriptures,  but,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of 
this  Letter,  so  congenial  to  our  higher  rational  con- 
ception and  nature.  The  doctrine  of  Guardian  An- 
gels speaks  home  to  the  heart  with  peculiar  empha- 
sis, and  awakens  in  our  minds  the  most  delightful 
emotions.  To  think  that  man  can  claim  kindred 
with  angels,  and  that,  in  the  language  of  the  poet, 
which  is  likewise  the  language  of  truth, 

"  Angels  are  men,  in  lighter  habit  clad," 
and 

"  Men  are  angels  loaded  for  an  hour,"  etc. 

is  a  great  cause  of  consolation. 

There  are  two  sources  whence  we  derive  all  our 
knowledge  respecting  this  subject.  The  one  is  Scrip- 
ture, and  the  other  is  the  rational  exercise  of  the 
human  mind  on  the  subjects  revealed.  In  the  Scrip- 
tures we  learn  that  the  Lord  "has  given  his  angels 
charge  over  us  to  keep  us  in  all  our  ways  "  (Psalm 
xci.  11) ;  and  that  "the  Lord  commands  his  angels 
to  encamp  round  about  them  that  fear  Him  "  (Ps. 
xxxiii.  7).  We  likewise  learn  that  an  angel  came 

191 


192  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

and  delivered  Shaclrach,  Meshech  and  Abeclnego 
from  the  fiery  furnace,  so  that  not  a  single  hair  of 
their  heads  was  singed.  The  angel  of  God  likewise 
came  and  delivered  Daniel  from  the  lion's  den. 

When  the  people  of  Israel  went  through  the  wil- 
derness "a  pillar  of  a  cloud  went  before  them  by 
day,  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night ; "  and  this  pillar 
was  expressly  declared  to  be  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  and  that  they  were  delivered  uby  the  minis- 
try or  presence  of  angels. "  That  pillar  of  the  cloud, 
then,  was  a  phalanx  of  angels,  represented  in  that 
peculiar  form  in  order  to  show  us  that,  as  Israel  was 
thus  wonderfully  guided  and  protected  through  the 
wilderness,  so  in  like  manner  are  we,  whilst  passing 
through  this  life,  guarded  in  all  our  ways ;  and  if 
the  angels  of  God  were  not  with  us,  we  could  not 
make  a  single  step  in  advance  towards  his  kingdom. 

We  read  also  that  when  the  Lord  himself  came 
upon  earth,  u  angels  came  and  ministered  unto 
Him  "  (Matt.  iv.  11) ;  and  that  angels  were  with 
Him  in  the  most  trying  moments  of  his  agony  and 
temptation  (Luke  xxii.  43).  That  when  He  sweat 
as  it  were  drops  of  blood  during  his  agony  in  the 
garden,  angels  came  and  ministered  unto  Him  ;  and 
as  we  follow  the  Lord  u  in  the  regeneration,"  angels 
come  and  minister  unto  us  also.  He  indeed  needed 
not  ministering  angels.  He  had  all  strength  in  him- 
self, because  "He  had  all  power  in  heaven  and  on 
earth."  But  He  permitted  the  angels  to  come  and 
minister  unto  Him  in  order  to  show  how  it  is  with 
every  man  "  who  continues  with  Him  in  his  tempta- 
tions," that  He  also  guards,  watches  and  protects 


A  NGEL  1C  MINIS  TRA  TION.  193 

him  on  every  occasion  by  the  ministry  of  his  holy 
angels.  He  also  declares  to  us  that  the  u  angels  of 
little  children  do  always  behold  the  face  of  the  Fa- 
ther which  is  in  heaven,"  and  that  angels  are  with 
us  at  the  period  of  death.  For  angels  carried  Laz- 
arus into  Abraham's  bosom  in  heaven;  they  assisted, 
as  it  were,  at  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  and  also 
at  the  resurrection  of  Dives ;  for  universally,  whether 
the  man  is  good  or  evil,  the  angels  of  God  never  with- 
hold their  ministry  of  love,  their  service  of  salvation 
from  him.  We  also  know  from  the  declaration  of 
Scripture  that  the  angels  of  God  "  rejoice  over  every 
sinner  that  repenteth ;  "  that  angels  are  with  us  when 
we  are  performing  the  duties  of  actual  and  genuine 
repentance :  thus,  when  we  are  struggling  with  the 
evils  of  our  corrupt  nature,  when  we  are  overcoming 
temptations  induced  by  evil  spirits,  angels  are  with 
us.  It  is  they  who  inspire  us  from  the  Lord  with 
every  excellent  motive.  It  is  they  who  inwardly 
awaken  all  the  sensitiveness  of  our  conscientious 
nature.  It  is  they  who  thus  inspire  the  mind  with 
encouragement  and  hope.  "We  learn  also  that  an- 
gels are  with  us  in  our  acts  of  devotion  and  worship. 
Thus  it  is  said  in  the  8th  chapter  of  Revelation 
"that  the  angel  took  of  the  incense  from  the  altar, 
and  offered  it  up  to  God  with  the  prayers  of  all 
saints." 

Angels,  therefore,  are  with  us  in  our  acts  of  wor- 
ship ;  and  although  unseen  by  the  eye  of  the  body, 
they  are  yet  present  with  us  in  our  u  inward  man," 
and  in  all  our  higher  sensibilities.  We  learn  from 
the  testimony  already  adduced,  that  angels  are,  in 
17  N 


194  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

the  hands  of  Grod-s  Providence,  mediums  of  every 
kind  of  good  to  us.  They  are  the  mediums  of  our 
safety.  They  are  the  mediums  by  which  we  are 
guarded  against  danger,  and  especially  against  evils 
of  every  kind.  They  are  the  mediums  by  which  we 
are  moved  to  genuine  repentance,  and  by  which  our 
acts  of  worship  ascend  to  the  throne  of  grace.  They 
are  the  mediums  of  strength  to  us  in  the  hour  of 
trial  and  temptation.  uThey  bear  us  up  lest  we 
dash  our  feet  against  a  stone."  They  are  mediums 
universally  of  preservation  to  our  infant  race.  We 
often  wonder  how  it  is  that  children  who  play  in  our 
streets  are  not  more  frequently  destroyed  by  the 
dangers  that  surround  them.  Ah  !  there  is  a  secret 
here  which  the  Word  of  God  unfolds  !  It  is  because 
they  are  mercifully  and  wonderfully  protected  from 
these  dangers,  and  borne  up,  invisibly  to  us,  by  an- 
gels, lest  they  should  suffer  injury  and  death. 

We  also  learn  that  angels  are  the  mediums  of  good 
and  of  strength  to  man  when  he  is  assailed  by  any 
besetting  sin.  We  feel  that  we  are  sometimes  placed 
in  a  ''strait  (as  says  the  Apostle)  between  two" — 
in  a  dilemma.  We  have  our  heart  with  its  heredi- 
tary evil  propensities  bearing  us  downward ;  we  have 
our  higher  sentiments  bearing  us  upward.  Oh  ! 
there  are  many  struggles  in  the  heart  of  man ! 
There  is  the  warfare  between  the  internal  and  ex- 
ternal; between  the  inward  man  "which  rejoices  in 
the  law  of  Gk>d,"  and  the  outward  man,  between 
"  the  flesh  and  the  spirit. "  Many  a  struggle  will  every 
good  man  feel,  and  blessed  is  he  who  does  experience 
that  struggle  (James  i.  12) ;  for  in  the  struggle  he 


ANGELS  ARE  SPIRITS  OF  JUST  MEN.     195 

will  often  experience  that  there  are  two  counteract- 
ing powers,  and  that  he  himself  in  the  centre  has 
the  decision  in  his  own  hand ;  but  to  pronounce  the 
decision  and  cause  it  to  take  effect,  is  the  especial 
combat  of  man  as  a  "  soldier  of  Christ.'*  Here  the 
angel  of  God  comes  to  strengthen  him ;  and  if  the 
victory  be  won  the  man  himself  becomes  an  angel. 
He  partakes  of  the  nature  of  angels,  and  becomes 
one  with  them.  He  has  something  more  than  what 
earth  can  give  him— something  more  than  what 
the  world  can  bestow.  His  heart  becomes  open  to 
heaven,  and  he  is  enrolled  amongst u  the  company  of 
the  first-born  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  per- 
fect." 

We  see,  then,  in  all  this,  strong  scriptural  evidence 
that  the  Guardian  Angel  is  not  a  mere  chimera  or 
metaphor  of  language,  but  as  great  a  reality  as  any- 
thing can  possibly  be. 

But  in  order  to  see  this  more  clearly,  we  will  in- 
quire what  is  an  angel ;  because  we  cannot  properly 
see  what  angels  are  to  us,  except  we  know  in  some 
measure  what  an  angel  is.  If  we  consult  the  Scrip- 
tures we  shall  see  an  angel  defined  and  presented 
to  us  u  as  the  spirit  of  a  just  man  made  perfect  in 
heaven."  An  angel,  then,  is  a  man  ;  and  we  are  to 
conceive  of  him  as  such.  He  is  a  man  not  clothed 
with  materiality,  but  a  man  in  a  spiritual  humanity ; 
for  there  is,  says  the  Apostle,  "a  natural  body, and 
there  is  a  spiritual  body."  An  angel  is  a  man  who 
has  left  the  natural  body,  but  who  in  the  spiritual 
world  is  clothed  with  a  spiritual  body,  consisting  of 
spiritual  substances,  of  which  the  human  mind  it- 


196  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

self  is  formed,  as  explained  in  a  former  Letter  ;  for, 
properly  regarded,  it  is  the  spiritual  form  of  a  man 
existing  within  his  natural  form ;  and  there  is  no 
philosophy  at  the  present  day  so  absurd  in  its  char- 
acter, as  that  of  conceiving  the  human  mind  to  be 
without  substance  or  form.  It  is  a  substance  more 
real  and  substantial  than  that  of  which  our  natural 
body  consists,  because  it  is  a  substance  which  is  not 
subject  to  the  laws  of  matter.  It  is  a  substance 
which  is  subject  to  the  laws  of  mind,  and  these  laws 
are  distinct  from  the  laws  of  matter.  (See  above, 
p.  175. )  We  think  according  to  the  laws  of  mind ; 
we  act  according  to  the  laws  of  matter.  All  our 
thoughts  and  affections  belong  to  the  spirit ;  all  our 
words  and  actions  belong  to  the  body.  The  spirit 
of  a  man,  therefore,  as  to  its  life,  consists  of  his  af- 
fections and  thoughts  ;  and  affection  and  thought 
can  no  more  exist  without  a  substance  and  form, 
than  vision  can  exist  without  an  eye,  hearing  with- 
out an  ear,  or  any  of  our  sensations  without  the  sen- 
sories  in  which  the  sensation  is  experienced.  The 
spirit  of  man  is  in  its  nature  most  truly  a  substance, 
clothed  whilst  here  with  a  material  substance,  in 
order  that  it  may  exist  for  a  time  in  the  world  of 
nature,  to  perform  there  the  uses  which  by  creation 
it  is  destined  to  accomplish.  That,  says  the  Apostle, 
"  is  first  which  is  natural :  afterwards  that  which  is 
spiritual."  (1  Cor.  xv.  46.)  The  natural  therefore 
comes  first,  as  the  foundation  of  the  building  must 
be  before  the  building  itself.  An  angel  as  a  spiritual 
being,  was  first  a  natural  being,  or  a  man  in  the 


THE  SEMINARY  FOR   HEAVEN.  197 

natural  world,  and  prepared  here  to  become  an  angel 
in  heaven.* 

We  shall  see  this  more  clearly  brought  home  to  us 
if  we  reflect  for  what  end  we  exist  here  ?  The  proper 
answer  to  that  question  is,  that  we  may  exist  uin 
the  image  and  likeness  of  God,"  and  that  wi-  may 
realize  the  light,  life,  wisdom,  happiness,  and  love 
of  God  in  ourselves.  We  live  here,  therefore,  in 
order  that  we  may  be  prepared  for  heaven  hereafter. 
The  world,  then,  properly  regarded,  is  the  seminary 
for  heaven  ;  the  nursery  whence  the  plants  planted 
by  the  hand  of  our  heavenly  Father,  shall  be  trans- 
planted to  his  kingdom  in  heaven.  This  world, 
therefore,  is  especially  a  training-school  for  heaven. 
Every  day  we  here  live,  that  is  not  lived  for  heaven, 
is  a  day  lost.  And  we  live  here  for  heaven  if,  whilst 
here,  we  endeavor  faithfully  to  perform  our  duties 
to  God  and  our  duties  one  to  another.  The  man 
who  faithfully,  that  is,  from  a  religious  principle, 
performs  his  duty  here,  whatever  be  his  vocation, 
is  preparing  to  become  an  angel.  Whilst  he  is  en- 
gaged in  his  outer  man  in  faithfully  performing  the 
duties  of  his  employment  or  vocation  here,  the  Lord, 
through  the  ministry  of  his  holy  angels,  is  engaged 
in  building  up  his  inner  man  to  become  an  angel  in 
his  kingdom. 

Angels,  then,  were  always  seen  as  men  ;  but  not 
men  with  wings.  That  is  an  idea  which  belongs  to 

*  See  the  Postscript  to  this  Letter,.in  which  it  is  demonstrated 
that  the  common  notion  of  the  fall  of  angels  has  no  ground  in 
Scripture  or  reason  to  rest  upon. 
17* 


198  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

pure  symbolism  ;  and  when  mentioned  in  Scripture, 
is  representative  of  the  higher  intelligence,  wisdom 
and  love  in  which  an  angel  lives.  To  think,  then, 
of  an  angel,  we  must  think  of  a  man  in  a  higher 
state  of  perfection,  who  has  lived  in  the  world,  and 
through  the  power  and  mercy  of  his  God  has  per- 
formed his  duty  to  his  Creator  and  to  his  fellow- 
man  ;  who  has  lived  here  the  life  of  faith  and  love ; 
who  " has  followed  the  Lord  in  the  regeneration," 
and  thus  prepared  himself  here  for  his  higher  destiny 
hereafter. 

That  angels  are  our  brethren  is  declared  by  the 
angel  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  where  John,  with 
,a  sense  of  awe,  "fell  down  to  worship  the  angel" 
who  showed  him  the  events  recorded  in  that  book. 
But  the  angel  said,  "See  thou  do  it  not ;  for  I  am 
thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the  proph- 
ets." This,  then,  plainly  shows  us  what  an  angel 
is  ;  that  he  is  a  man  with  all  the  perfection  of  human 
nature  in  its  highest  sphere  ;  having  here  had  a  ma- 
terial frame,  which,  "as  flesh  and  blood  can  never 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God,"  is  put  off;  but  he  is 
there  u  in  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens. "  That  house  is  his  "  spiritual  body. " 

Angels  were  always  seen  as  men  throughout  the 
Scriptures.  Abraham  saw  the  three  angels  that 
came  to  him  on  the  plain  of  Mamre  as  three  men. 
Lot  saw  the  angels  who  came  to  him  in  the  city  of 
Sodom  as  men.  Jacob  saw  the  angels  of  God  ascend- 
ing and  descending  the  ladder,  and  wrestled  with 
one  as  a  man.  Gideon  declares  that  he  saw  a  man 
who  commanded  him  to  prepare  the  fleece  in  a  cer- 


EVERYTHING   FOR   SERVICE.  199 

tain  way,  as  proof  that  he  should  be  victorious  over 
the  Midianites.  That  man  was  the  angel  of  God. 
Manoali  also  saw  the  angel  of  God  as  a  man,  who 
announced  to  him  the  birth  of  Samson.  The  two 
angels  who  were  seen  at  the  Lord's  sepulchre  WITC 
expressly  called  "young  men."  Moses  and  Elias 
were  seen  at  the  transfiguration  of  Jesus  as  men ; 
and  it  is  expressly  said  that  u  two  men  were  with 
Jesus."  Whenever,  therefore,  we  think  of  angels, 
let  us  think  of  them  as  men.  It  is  in  agreement 
with  Scripture  evidence  throughout ;  and  it  is  in 
agreement  with  our  higher  rational  perception. 

When  we  come  to  examine  our  rational  experience 
for  proofs  and  illustrations  of  what  we  have  ad- 
vanced, we  shall  find  that  there  are  two  universal 
facts  and  truths  that  press  themselves  most  solemnly 
on  our  attention.  The  first  is,  that  nothing  that  we 
behold  or  are  acquainted  with  is  made  for  itself  ex- 
clusively, but  that  it  is  created  for  something  out  of 
itself,  and  that  it  looks  to  that  something  out  of  it- 
self as  the  object  which  it  is  in  its  nature  intended 
to  serve  and  bless.  Thus  the  father  looks  to  the 
child  out  of  himself  as  the  object  which  he  desires 
to  bless  and  to  love  as  one  with  himself ;  and  in  order 
that  he  may  realize  the  child's  happiness,  he  will 
deny  himself  even  the  necessaries  of  life  that  he 
may  bless  the  object  of  his  love.  In  like  manner  a 
good  man  looks  to  his  fellow-man  out  of  himself  as 
the  object  whom  he  desires  to  bless.  "None  of  us 
(says  the  Apostle)  liveth  to  himself."  (Rom.  xiv.  7.) 
If  you  look  at  the  structure  of  his  eyes,  you  will  find 
that  the  eye  sees  all  objects  around  it,  save  one, — 


200  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

that  one  is  itself.  He  does  not  look  to  himself  in 
the  activities  of  his  life,  but  to  objects  out  of  him- 
self. I  am  aware  that  the  selfishness  of  human 
nature  can  scarcely  be  brought  to  agree  with  this  ; 
yet  it  may  be  rationally  brought  home,  and  illus- 
trated by  a  variety  of  facts. 

In  the  kingdom  of  nature,  for  example,  you  will 
find  that  the  whole  of  the  mineral  kingdom  exists 
for  something  beyond  itself ;  that  something  is  the 
vegetable  kingdom.  It  administers  all  its  uses  to 
the  various  kinds  of  vegetables.  The  vegetable 
kingdom,  in  like  manner,  does  not  exist  for  itself. 
It  looks  to  a  sphere  beyond  and  out  of  itself.  It 
looks  to  the  animal  kingdom,  and  all  its  wonderful 
provisions  are  poured  forth  for  the  use  of  that  king- 
dom. .  But  there  is  something  beyond  this  which  all 
the  kingdoms  of  nature  contemplate  as  their  final 
object ;  that  is,  man.  They  all  look  to  him  as  the 
object  which  they  desire  to  benefit  and  bless.  The 
mineral  kingdom  displays  its  mineral  wealth  in  order 
that  it  may  bless  man.  The  vegetable  kingdom  dis- 
plays its  wealth  and  productions  in  order  that  it  may 
bless  man.  The  animal  kingdom,  in  like  manner, 
so  far  as  it  is  of  service  to  the  human  race— and 
even  in  so  far  as  it  is  not  of  service,  as  with  the 
venomous  reptiles,  the  ferocious  beasts,  and  the 
poisonous  plants — all  subserve  in  one  form  or  another 
the  interest  and  benefit  of  mankind.  All  look,  there- 
fore, to  man.  He  is  the  world,  the  little  world  or 
microcosm  to  which  they  all  refer.  But  this  is  not 
all ;  they  look  further.  They  look  to  their  Creator 
through  man,  through  whom  as  a  rational,  conscious 


BLESSEDNESS  IN  SERVING.  201 

being,  they  are  to  be  transferred  to  their  Creator  in 
acts  of  homage,  love  and  worship.  Then  the  whole 
circle  from  beginning  to  end  is  complete.  AVe  can 
go  no  further. 

Now  in  all  this  wonderful  system  we  notice  that 
there  is  one  thing  existing  for  another,  and  that 
there  are  mediums  from  one  thing  to  another  from 
beginning  to  end.  We  see  all  this  without  any  pos- 
sibility of  dispute  in  respect  to  man's  life  here  in  the 
world ;  and  the  inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  is, 
that  it  must  be  so  in  like  manner  with  regard  to 
man's  spiritual  relations ; — that  he  is  not  only  sur- 
rounded with  blessings  calculated  to  bless  his  u  outer 
man,"  but  with  a  wonderful  system  of  blessings 
calculated  to  bless  his  "inner  man."  That  s\ 
of  blessings  is  the  Spiritual  World,  and  eminently 
the  guardian  angels  with  whom,  through  the  prov- 
idence and  mercy  of  God,  he  is  surrounded. 

But  the  second  thing  as  a  universal  truth,  which 
I  desire  to  press  upon  your  intelligent  readers,  is 
this:  that  all  things  exist  as  mediums  of  good  and 
blessing  to  other  things.  Man,  for  example,  e: 
as  a  medium  of  good  to  his  fellow-man.  lion- 
wretched  is  that  man  who  exists  for  himself  alone  ! 
We  call  him  a  miser,  from  the  word  miserable  ;  and 
truly  he  is  a  miserable  wretch.  Man  acquires  hap- 
piness in  proportion  as  he  goes  forth  into  the  world, 
and  blesses  others  by  the  uses  of  the 'employment  in 
which  he  is  engaged.  Thus  there  is  not  a  single 
individual  in  the  world  who,  by  virtue  of  his  office, 
however  humble  it  may  appear  in  the  eye  of  the 
world,  and  by  virtue  of  his  employment,  is  not  ca- 


.202  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

pable  of  being  a  medium  of  good  to  his  fellow-man. 
This  is  the  school  of  heaven;  and  where  the  mind 
is  opened  by  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  to  see 
this,  and  when  the  heart  and  the  life  are  affected 
according  to  the  knowledge  perceived,  the  interiors 
of  the  mind  are  opened,  and  man  is  gradually  trans- 
formed into  u  an  image  and  likeness  "  of  his  Saviour 
God. 

Now,  I  think  we  shall  see  that  this  is  most  reason- 
able, and  that  not  only  Scripture  speaks  plainly  to 
us  on  this  question,  but  our  own  rational  experience 
will  also  show  us  the  same  great  principle.  And  if 
it  is  a  truth,  how  great  is  that  truth  !  Let  us  for  a 
moment  glance  at  the  practical  nature  of  this  truth. 
Every  holy,  disinterested  and  pure  thought  and 
affection  which  we  cherish,  is  an  indication  of  the 
presence  of  angels.  Every  disinterested  act  of  love 
we  perform — every  act  done  for  the  good  of  our 
neighbor,  is  a  proof  of  the  presence  of  angels. 

We  may,  therefore,  bring  this  also,  like  every 
other  doctrine  of  Christianity,  to  the  test  of  experi- 
ence. If  it  yield  us  spiritual  profit,  if  it  is  good  for 
our  practical  life,  if  by  carrying  it  out  it  will  make 
us  better  men,  bring  us  to  a  higher  platform  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  make  us  love  Him  with  a 
purer  love,  and  our  neighbor  even  better  than  our- 
selves, then  we  may  rest  assured  u  the  doctrine  is 
of  God; "  and  trying  this  doctrine  of  Guardian  An- 
gels by  this  test,  we  shall  find  it  to  be  eminently 
practical.  We  have  already  said  that  every  holy, 
pure  and  sweet  thought  is  an  indication  of  the  pres- 
ence of  good  spirits  and  angels.  How,  then,  ought 


WHAT  ARE  EVIL   SPIRITS?  203 

we  to  struggle  against  the  opposite  to  these  heav- 
enly emotions  ?  When  we  have  the  unholy  thought, 
the  sinister  motive,  if  we  struggle  against  it  through 
the  power  of  God  in  order  that  we  may  cherish  the 
opposite,  we  may  rest  assured  that  "the  angels  of 
God  are  encamped  round  about  us."  This,  then,  is 
one  of  the  practical  tendencies  of  the  doctrine  be- 
fore us. 

Let  us  now  briefly  consider  the  nature  of  evil 
spirits.  First  we  will  inquire,  What  is  an  evil 
spirit  ?  You  will  remember  the  definition  we  gave 
of  an  angel,  which  is  u  the  spirit  of  a  just  man  made 
perfect  in  heaven."  An  evil  spirit  is,  consequently, 
the  spirit  of  an  unjust  man,  of  an  unregenerate  man  ; 
of  a  man  who  has  left  the  world  through  the  gate 
of  death  without  being  prepared  for  I  In-  heavenly 
realm.  If,  for  example,  a  man  has  made  himself 
monstrous  by  a  life  of  cruelty  and  brutality,  and  if 
he  die  in  that  state:  if  he  has  organized  his  mind 
to  be  monstrous  in  that  character,  how  can  a  mon- 
ster enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  Again  :  if  a 
man  by  fraud,  deceit  and  treachery  has  made  him- 
self into  a  viper — for  the  Lord  calls  those  vipers  who 
are  hypocrites  and  deceitful— how  can  a  viper  with 
its  venom  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God?  \\V 
might  thus  go  through  the  whole  catalogue  of  sinful 
depravities. 

There  is  much  knowledge  required  on  the  true 
nature  of  the  human  soul.  It  has  been  too  often 
and  too  long  thought  by  many  that  the  human  soul 
is  a  mere  principle  of  thinking  and  willing,  and  at 
the  same  time  unsubstantial  and  abstract  in  its  na- 


204  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

hire.  This,  viewed  rationally  and  scripturally,  is  a 
most  grievous  error  in  the  church  and  in  the  philos- 
ophy of  the  day.  As  already  explained,  the  human 
soul  is  of  a  purer  and  infinitely  more  perfect  sub- 
stance than  the  body ;  but  a  substance  of  another 
character ;  a  spiritual  substance,  as  we  see  mani- 
fested to  us  in  the  Word  of  God.  Thus  it  will  be 
found  that  the  spirit  of  a  man  is  a  spiritual  organ- 
ism, and  that  this  organism  assumes  a  form  accord- 
ing to  the  governing  principle  that  actuates  it.  If 
the  governing  principle  be  evil,  the  form  of  the  spirit 
will  be  in  harmony  with  the  interior  evil  by  which 
it  is  actuated.  If  the  governing  principle,  for  ex- 
ample, be  avarice  or  an  inordinate  love  of  wealth, 
the  form  of  that  man  will,  as  to  his  spirit,  be  pre- 
cisely in  harmony  with  the  evil  which  he  loves. 
Now  if  a  man  has  lived  here  so  as  to  organize  his 
spirit  or  mind  to  be  in  harmony  with  some  love  or 
principle  that  is  not  in  agreement  with  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  he  cannot,  after  death,  be  re-organized. 
Where  can  he  be  reformed  or  re-organized  ?  Here 
is  the  place  for  effecting  it ;  here  is  the  proper  place 
for  regeneration.  "Now  is  the  accepted  time,  now 
is  the  day  of  salvation."  "  The  Son  of  Man  hath 
power  091  earth  to  forgive  sins."  When  the  earth  is 
left  by  death  the  power  to  forgive  or  remit,  that  is, 
to  remove  sins,  exists  no  longer.  The  man  has  con- 
tracted a  nature  in  which  he  delights,  and  will  not 
part  with  it.  (See  above,  p.  166.) 

For  if  a  man  has  organized  himself  in  a  manner 
not  suited  to  the  heavenly  world,  how  can  he  live 
there  ?  If  he  have  eyes  not  organized  and  fashioned 


EVIL   SPIRITS  SHUN   THE  LIGHT.          205 

so  as  to  see  in  the  light  of  heaven,  how  can  he  en- 
dure that  light?  He  will  shun  it,  for  he  "loves 
darkness  rather  than  light,  because  his  deeds  are 
evil."  He  will  shun  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
heaven,  because  his  darkness  is  contrary  to  their 
light ;  and  in  like  manner  as  to  all  his  sensations. 
If  he  has  lungs  not  formed  to  breathe  the  heavenly 
atniosphcres,  the  fish  might  as  easily  live  out  of 
water,  as  for  an  evil  spirit  thus  organized  to  dwell 
with  his  God.  God  does  not  remove  the  evil  spirit 
from  himself,  but  the  evil  spirit  removes  himself 
from  God.  God  is  always  willing  to  receive  sinners ; 
but  the  man  who  loves  sinful  depravities  will  betake 
himself  far  from  God,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
depravity  in  which  he  is.  It  is  therefore  said,  u  He 
that  is  righteous  let  him  be  righteous  still ;  he  that 
is  holy  let  him  be  holy  still ;  he  that  is  unjust  let 
him  be  unjust  still  ;-and  he  that  is  filthy  let  him  be 
filthy  still."  This  is  the  declaration  of  the  Word  of 
God ;  and  like  the  birds  of  night,  the  wicked  will  of 
their  own  accord  shun  the  light  of  heaven.  The  de- 
light of  evil  here  has  so  fascinated  them,  that  like 
the  swine,  they  will  of  their  own  accord  "  wallow  in 
the  mire."  The  great  object  of  religion  is  to  raise 
us  u  from  the  dung-hill,  and  to  seat  us  upon  the 
throne  of  princes."  (Psalm  cxiii.  7,  8.)  To  know 
our  delights,  and  in  what  we  find  our  greatest  grati- 
fication, is  one  of  the  most  useful  exercises  in  which 
the  human  mind  can  be  engaged.  An  evil  spirit, 
then,  is  a  man  in  a  state  of  degradation,  evil,  misery, 
and  wretchedness,  which  during  his  lifetime  here  he 
18 


206  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

has  brought  upon  himself,  contrary  to  the  designs 
of  his  Creator. 

Now  we  read  much  of  evil  spirits  in  the  Word  of 
God.  The  Lord,  when  He  came  into  the  world,  came 
expressly,  as  one  of  the  great  objects  of  redemption, 
"  to  cast  out  unclean  spirits  and  devils. "  It  was  be- 
cause, at  the  time  He  came  into  the  world,  evil  had 
risen  to  such  an  ascendancy,  that  if  He  had  not  come 
to  accomplish  the  work  of  redemption,  "no  flesh 
could  have  been  saved."  Redemption  chiefly  con- 
sisted in  removing  these  evil  influences;  in  subju- 
gating their  authority,  and  casting  them  out  from 
man,  and  in  thus  delivering  the  human  race  from 
their  infernal  bondage.  We  likewise  learn  that  "  he 
healed  those  who  were  vexed  with  evil  spirits." 
(Luke  vi.  18.) 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  practical  nature  of  this 
subject.  Every  unholy  and  unworthy  thought  we 
cherish,  is  a  proof  of  the  proximity  of  evil  spirits  ; 
for  we  derive  no  thoughts  from  ourselves.  It  is 
a  mere  fallacy  to  suppose  that  a  man  derives  his 
thoughts  from  himself ;  as  it  is  a  mere  fallacy  to  sup- 
pose that  vision  is  inherent  in  the  eye,  or  hearing  in 
the  ear.  Did  not  the  air  vibrate  and  strike  upon 
the  ear,  we  should  never  hear.  Did  riot  the  light 
act  upon  the  retina,  we  should  never  see.  And  this 
is  still  more  true  with  regard  to  the  thoughts  and 
the  affections.  If  we  think  and  act  according  to 
the  principles  of  God's  Word,  then  our  thoughts  are 
all  derived  from  Him  through  the  medium  of  angels ; 
but  if  we  think  in  opposition  to  the  Word  or  the 
light  of  his  divine  truth,  then  our  thoughts,  what- 


EVIL  INFLUENCES— HOW  RESISTED.      207 

ever  maybe  the  outward  appearance,  are  influenced 
more  or  less  by  the  evil  spirits  with  whom  we  are 
associated.  Here,  then,  we  see  the  truth  of  the 
Lord's  declaration.  When  every  insult  was  heaped 
upon  Him,  He  said  to  the  people  around  Him,  "  Now 
is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness."  He  saw 
the  evil  influences  that  actuated  them,  and  asso- 
cLated  them  with  their  origin,  u  the  power  of  dark- 
ness." So  is  it  now. 

Let  us  remember,  then,  if  we  desire  to  reduce  this 
to  practice,  that  every  wrong  and  impure  imagi- 
nation, and  especially  every  wrong  motive  and  end 
we  cherish,  is  a  link  between  us  and  some  evil  spirit ; 
and  that  that  link  can  only  be  broken  by  the  power 
of  Jesus,  that  is,  by  the  power  of  the  Word  of  Jesus. 
Jesus  acts  by  his  Word  (Matt.  viii.  16),  and  if  we 
follow  his  Word,  He  breaks  that  link  and  destroys 
this  "confederacy  with  death"  (Isaiah  xxxiii.  15), 
and  thus  effects  our  individual  redemption,  as  He 
accomplished  the  universal  Redemption  and  Atone- 
ment of  mankind.  We  may  see,  then,  in  the  least, 
what  is  the  effect  in  the  greatest.  One  is  the  image 
of  the  other.  In  the  drop  of  the  ocean  we  behold 
the  ocean  itself  in  miniature  ;  in  the  ray  of  light,  the 
image  of  the  sun  itself.  The  individual  redemption 
of  man  is  an  image  of  the  universal  redemption 
effected  by  our  Saviour  God. 

In  what  manner,  then,  are  we  to  act,  so  as  to  be 
secure  on  the  one  hand  from  evil  spirits,  and  on  the 
other  to  be  associated  with  "  ministering  angels  "  ? 
The  only  way  is  to  look  to  the  Lord  in  his  Word. 
That  is  the  only  medium  of  deliverance  from  "the 


208  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

powers  of  darkness,"  and  the  only  medium  of  con- 
junction with  the  Lord  himself.  Let  us,  then,  direct 
our  eyes  solely  to  Jesus  in  his  Glorified  Humanity, 
in  which  He  is  one  with  the  everlasting  Father,  and 
tlu>  everlasting  Father  himself  brought  forth  to  our 
view.  Let  us  look  to  Him  as  the  sole  source  u  of  all 
power  in  heaven  and  on  earth. "  Let  us  look  to  Him 
as  the  sole  Fountain  of  Life,  as  the  sole  source  of 
every  pure  and  good  and  holy  thought  and  affec- 
tion. Let  us  seek  Him  in  his  Word,  and  when  we 
find  the  truth  there,  let  us  remember  that  that  truth 
has  been  sent  to  us  to  associate  us  with  his  kingdom, 
to  bring  us  more  under  the  influence  of  his  guardian 
angels  that  encamp  around  us,  and  to  remove  as  far 
as  possible  the  u  confederacy  of  hell  and  of  death," 
and  the  influence  of  evil  spirits.  For  it  is  Jesus  alone 
who  has  the  power  to  destroy  their  influence,  and  to 
deliver  us  from  their  cruel  bondage. 

I  am,  yours,  etc.  A.  V. 


POSTSCRIPT. 
Angels  not  Created  such. 

It  is  a  common  belief  that  angels  were  created  as 
such  before  man,  and  that  certain  angels  fell,  and 
introduced  evil  into  the  universe.  I  am  aware  that 
this  belief  rests  rather  upon  Milton's  "Paradise 
Lost,"  than  upon  any  solid  ground  in  Scripture. 
Still,  the  two  passages  in  2  Peter  ii.  4,  and  in  Jude 
6,  which  speak  of  "  the  angels  that  sinned,  and  that 


A    POPULAR   ERROR.  209 

kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habita- 
tion, and  are  reserved  in  everlasting  chains  under 
darkness  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  "— 
these  two  passages  require  (as  they  appear  to  be 
the  principal  scriptural  supports  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  existence  of  angels  prior  to  the  creation  of  man), 
to  be  fully  explained  in  reference  to  this  subject. 

It  is  of  great  interest  to  spiritual  intelligence,  and 
consequently  to  the  spiritual  life,  to  have  scriptural 
and  true  ideas  upon  this  subject.  In  order  to  sup- 
ply corroborative  evidence  that  these  two  passages 
in  Peter  and  Jude  have  no  reference  to  the  common 
notion  of  the  Fall  of  Angels,  and  that  they,  in  con- 
sequence, give  no  countenance  or  support  to  the 
supposed  existence  of  angels  prior  to  the  creation 
of  man,  we  will  adduce  some  striking  proofs  from 
the  most  esteemed  interpreters  of  Scripture  during 
the  first  four  centuries  of  Christianity,  when  it  is 
supposed,  both  by  the  Roman  Catholics  and  by 
many  amongst  the  Protestants,  that  Scripture  was 
better  understood  than  in  after  times.  We  are 
enabled  to  do  this  from  the  learned  work  of  Dr. 
Tafel,  entitled  "A  Comparative  Statement  and 
Critique  of  the  Doctrines  of  Roman  Catholics  and 
Protestants,  and  of  the  Difference  between  them 
and  the  Doctrines  of  the  New  Church,"  etc.* 

We  will  first  show  that  the  term  angel  (ayyeAAoc) 
which  signifies  one  sent,  or  a  messenger,  is  by  no 
means  in  Scripture  confined  to  angels  as  inhabitants 

*  Vergleichcnde  Darstellung  und  Beurtheilung  der  Lehrgeg- 
ensiUze,  etc.,  TUbingen,  1835. 

18*  O 


210  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

of  heaven.  This  term  immediately  corresponds  to 
the  Hebrew  "JX^D,  which  signifies  the  same  as  the 
Greek  term  ayye/Uof,  from  which  our  word  angel 
is  derived,  and  denotes  one  sent,  or  a  messenger.  Thus 
in  the  Scriptures  men  are  often  called  angels;  in 
Numbers  xx.  14,  it  is  said  that  "  Moses  sent  mes- 
sengers from  Kadesh  unto  the  king  of  Edomr"  etc. ; 
now  the  term  messengers  is  rendered  in  the  Greek 
version  of  the  Septuagint  by  ayyeAAovf,  angels.  See 
also  Mai.  iii.  1 ;  Matt.  xi.  10 ;  Mark  i.  2 ;  Luke  i.  17, 
vii.  27,  where  John  the  Baptist  is  called  an  angel. 
The  disciples  of  John  who  were  sent  to  inquire  of 
Jesus  are  also  called  angels.  (Luke  vii.  24.)  The 
messengers  whom  Jesus  sent  before  Him  into  a  vil- 
lage of  the  Samaritans  are  called  angels.  (See  Luke 
ix.  52. )  From  these  and  from  other  passages  which 
might  be  adduced,  it  abundantly  appears  from  the 
Greek  text,  that  the  term  angels  is  by  no  means  con- 
fined to  the  inhabitants  of  the  spiritual  world,  but 
that  it  is  also  applied  to  men,  as  well  as  to  spirits 
who  have  been  men. 

Now  the  evident  intention  both  of  Peter  and  Jude, 
in  the  passage  under  consideration,  is  to  show  that 
"false  teachers  would  come,  yea,  had  come,  among 
the  Christians,  who  would  privily  bring  in  damnable 
heresies,"  etc. ;  and  their  object  clearly  was,  to 
show  that  judgment  and  destruction  would  come 
over  the  Christian  communities,  if  these  "false 
teachers  and  damnable  heresies"  should  prevail  in 
leading  them  into  "pernicious  ways,"  etc.;  that 
judgment  and  destruction  would  certainly  overtake 
them  in  like  manner  as  judgment  and  destruction 


WHO  WERE  "THE  ANGELS   THAT  SINNED"?   211 

had  overwhelmed  all  former  Churches,  beginning 
with  the  first,  or  the  Church  of  Adam,  whose  mem- 
bers, when  they  had  fallen,  are  called  by  Peter  and 
Jude  the  "angels  that  sinned,  and  that  kept  not 
their  first  estate,"  etc.  Judgment  and  destruction 
are  also  represented  as  overwhelming,  on  account 
of  the  same  evils,  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  who,  "  in  like  manner  as  those  "  *  (says 
Jude  7),  namely,  "  as  the  angels  which  kept  not  their 
first  estate,"  "gave  themselves  over  to  fornication, 
and  went  after  strange  flesh. "  Here  the  inhabitants 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  are  represented  as  ti{i'n'nf/ 
after  strange  flesh,"  even  in  like  riianner  as  the  angels 
that  sinned.  Now  it  is  quite  evident  that  angels  in 
heaven  (who  have  not  flesh  and  bones  as  men  have, 
Luke  xxiv.  39)  cannot  possibly  go  a'fter  "strange 
flesh,"  as  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  did  ;  and  there- 
fore the  angels  mentioned  by  these  apostles  as  hav- 
ing sinned,  could  not  have  been  angels  in  heaven,  but 
men  upon  earth ;  for  these,  and  not  the  former,  could 
"go  after  strange  flesh  and  commit  fornication." 
These  passages,  therefore,  properly  considered,  by 
no  means  teach  the  common  notion  that  "  angels  in 
heaven  sinned,  and  kept  not  their  first  estate  and 

*  The  term  TOVTOH;  in  verse  7  is,  strange  to  say,  omitted  in  the 
common  version,  although  there  is  no  ancient  manuscript  which 
authorizes  this  omission;  wherefore  after  the  clause  "in  like 
manner,"  the  omission  "  a*  those/'  must  be  inserted  in  order 
faithfully  to  express  the  Greek  text.  Now,  the  only  antecedent 
to  "as  those"  is  angels  in  the  previous  verse.  When  this  fact 
is  properly  considered,  our  argument  will  be  found  indisputable. 
The  Syriac  version  and  Luther's  have  "as  those." 


212  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

habitation ; "  but  that  the  men  of  the  most  ancient 
church,  described  in  the  history  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
11  kept  not  their  first  or  holy  state,  and  left  their  habita- 
tion" in  Eden. 

One  reason,  we  apprehend,  why  a  great  misappre- 
hension has  arisen  upon  this  subject,  is  not  only 
from  the  conception  so  generally  implanted  in  the 
mind  respecting  the  Fall  of  Angels  from  heaven, 
but  from  the  idea  which  is  commonly  entertained 
when  angels  are  mentioned  in  Scripture.  For  in 
this  idea  angels  (except  when  the  angels  of  the  devil 
and  of  the  dragon  are  expressly  stated)  are  always 
considered  as  denoting  the  inhabitants  of  heaven. 
That  this,  however,  is  not  the  case,  but  that  the 
term  angels  is  also  frequently  applied  to  denote  men 
upon  earth,  we  have  already  abundantly  proved. 
In  confirmation  of  this  fact,  see  also  James  ii.  25 
(Greek  text),  in  which  the  term  ''messengers"  is 
"angels." 

Now,  on  comparing  Peter  and  Jude  together  on 
this  subject,  so-  great  is  the  similarity  of  their  state- 
ments, that  it  is  evident  that  they  both  had  access 
to  the  same  source  of  information,  which  was  (as 
proved  by  the  learned  Semler)  the  Book  of  Enoch. 
That  this  ancient  book,  however,  did  not,  when  it 
speaks  of  the  angels  that  sinned,  mean  angels  in  heaven, 
but  the  men  of  the  most  ancient  church,  or  of  the 
Adamic  dispensation,  was  the  current  belief  of  the 
fathers  of  the  first  four  centuries  of  Christianity — 
this  we  shall  now  proceed  to  show. 

It  was  admitted  by  Augustin,  Chrysostom,  Cyril- 
lus,  Theodoret,  and  others,  that  the  account  given 


"THE  ANGELS   THAT  SINNED."  213 

in  the  Book  of  Enoch,  and  in  the  Epistles  of  Peter 
and  Jude,  of  the  angels  that  sinned,  etc.,  relates  ex- 
clusively to  Gen.  vi.  1-4  : 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  men  began  to  multi- 
ply on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  daughters  were  born 
unto  them,  that  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters 
of  men  that  they  were  fair  ;  and  they  took'  them 
wives  of  all  which  they  chose.  And  the  Lord  said, 
My  spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  man,  for  that 
he  also  is  flesh  :  yet  his  days  shall  be  a  hundred  and 
twenty  years.  There  were  giants  in  the  eartli  in 
those  days ;  and  also  after  that,  when  the  sons  of 
God  came  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men,  and  they 
bare  children  to  them,  the  same  became  mighty  men, 
which  were  of  old  men  of  renown." 

The  expression,  "sons of  God,"  is  rendered  in  some 
of  the  manuscripts  of  that  ancient  Greek  version 
called  the  Septuagint,  by  "angels  of  God;"  and  as 
the  Apostles,  in  their  Epistles,  quote  this  version, 
we  see  how  it  has  arisen  that  Peter  and  Jude,  when 
describing  the  judgment  and  destruction  which  came 
over  the  fallen  men  of  the  Adamic  dispensation,  al- 
lude to  them  as  the  angels  that  sinned,  etc.  We  also 
,  see  that  "  the  fornication  and  the  going  after  strange 
flesh,"  which,  as  we  have  seen,  constituted  the  sin 
of  the  angels  mentioned  by  Jude,  evidently  refers  to 
what  is  said  in  the  passage  above,  "  that  the  sons  of 
God  came  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men,"  of  whom 
giants  and  mighty  men  were  born,  denoting  the  dire- 
ful persuasions  of  self-love,  and  the  consequent  per- 
version of  all  truths  which  then  existed  in  the  fallen 
church  of  Adam. 


214  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

Now  Augustin,  a  writer  of  great  authority  in  the 
Primitive  Church  of  Christianity,  says  : — 

"I  do  not  believe  that  when  the  Apostle  Peter 
speaks  of  the  '  angels  that  sinned  whom  God  did  not 
spare,'  he  means  the  holy  angels  of  God,  who  could 
by  no  means  at  that  time  fall ;  but  that  he  speaks 
of  those  men  who  first,  as  apostates,  fell  away  from 
God.  For  the  same  Holy  Scripture  abundantly 
shows  that  men  of  God  are  called  angels;  for,  of 
John  [the  Baptist]  it  is  written — Behold  !  I  send  my 
angel  before  thy  face.  And  the  prophet  Malachi  is 
called  an  angel,  (ii.  7.)  .  .  .  Giants  could  have  been 
born  before  the  sons  of  God,  who  are  also  called  [in 
the  Septuagint]  the  angels  of  God,  came  in  unto  the 
daughters  of  men :  namely,  of  the  sons  of  Seth  (Gen. 
v.  4)  and  the  daughters  of  Cain."  [Here  Augustin 
quotes  the  passage  above,  Gen.  vi.  1-4.] 

He  then  proceeds  : — 

"For  the  persons  [sons  of  God]  here  mentioned 
were  not,  as  some  suppose,  the  holy  angels  of  God, 
as  men  are  not ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  they 
were  men ;  and  this,  Scripture  itself,  without  any 
ambiguity,  declares  to  be  the  fact.  .  .  .  The  Septua- 
gint version  calls  them,  indeed,  both  the  angels  of 
God  and  the  sons  of  God  ;  that  is,  not  all  the  manu- 
scripts have  angels  of  God,  but  some  have  the  sons  of 
God.  But  Aquila,*  an  interpreter,  whom  the  Jews 
prefer  to  other  Greek  translators,  has  rendered  it 
neither  by  angels  of  God  nor  by  sons  of  God,  but  sons 
of  the  gods,  according  to  what  is  said  in  Psalm  Ixxxii. 
6 — '  I  have  said,  ye  are  gods,  and  all  of  you  children 
o£  the  Most  High. '  Let  us,  however,  omit  the  fables 
of  those  Scriptures  which  are  called  apocryphal,  .  .  . 

*  The  Greek  version  of  Aquila  was  completed  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  second  century.  He  died  in  128. 


OPINION   OF   THE  FATHERS.  215 

• 

although  we  cannot  deny  that  Enoch  has  written 
some  divine  things,  since  the  Apostle  Jude,  in  his 
canonical  epistle,  refers  to  him." — Augustin.  de 
civ.  Dei  xv.,  23  ed.  Bened.  t.  7,  p.  308,  s. 

But  not  only  Augustin  ;  Chrysostom  also,  a  Greek 
father  of  the  greatest  celebrity,  in  his  Homily  on 
Gen.  vi.  says  : — 

"That  it  is  inconsiderate,  absurd,  and  blasphe- 
mous, to  say  that  in  this  passage  angels  and  not 
men  are  understood.  It  is  customary  in  Holy  Writ 
to  call  men  the  sons  of  GocZ,  as  the  descendants  of 
Enoch  the  son  of  Seth  are  called,  because  up  to  that 
time  they  had  imitated  the  virtue  of  their  ancestors  ; 
whereas  the  descendants  of  Cain  are  called  the  sons 
of  men."  * 

Cyrillus  of  Alexandria  says  : — 

"The  descendants  of  Enoch  are  [in  Gen.  vi.] 
called  the  sons  of  God,  because  up  to  that  time  they 
had  kept  themselves  free  from  worldly-mindedness." 
He  adds,  "We  must  by  no  means  suppose  that  the 
holy  angels  are  here  meant,  to  whom  shameful 
licentiousness  is  ascribed."! 

But  another  esteemed  writer,  Athanasius  (or  he 
who  was  the  author  of  the  Questiones  ad  Antiochum), 
says : — 

"The  sons  of  God  (in  Gen.  vi.)  are  the  sons  of 
Seth  [and  not  the  holy  angels],  because  a  being  not 

*  See  Jo.  Chrysost.  in  Cap.  vi.  Gen.  Homil.  xxii.  Ed. 
Montfauc.  t.  4,  p.  195. 

f  Cyrillus  Alex.  Contra  Julian  ix.  ed.  Spanheim,  1606,  p. 
296. 


216  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

« 

clothed  with  flesh  and  bones  (aau/naroc)  cannot  love 
what  is  clothed  with  flesh  and  bones,  nor  can  it  ap- 
proach unto  women."* 

Basilius,  Bishop  of  Seleucias,  who  flourished  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  and  several  others, 
might  also  be  adduced  for  the  same  purpose.  But 
our  space  will  not  permit  us  to  proceed  further. 

We  think  it  will  now  appear  to  the  considerate 
reader  that  the  angels  mentioned  by  Peter  and  Jude 
are  not  to  be  understood  angels  created  as  such,  be- 
cause this,  as  we  have  shown,  would  be  in  contra- 
diction to  the  context  in  Jude,  who  says  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  in  like  manner 
as  the  angels,  u  went  after  strange  flesh,"  etc.  ;  but 
as  angels  in  heaven  are  not  clothed,  as  Athanasius 
says,  "with  natural  flesh,"  therefore  it  is,  as  Chry- 
sostom  says,  "absurd,  yea,  blasphemous,  to  believe 
that  they  could  mingle  with  fleshly  natures  as  the 
inhabitants  of  Sodom  did." 

But  further,  the  common  notion  about  angels, 
created  as  such,  and  their  fall  from  heaven,  of  which 
notion  these  passages  in  Peter  and  Jude  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  principal  support,  is,  as  founded  on 
the  passage  in  Jude,  directly  opposed  to  what  is  said 
in  Scripture  respecting  the  Devil  and  Satan,  who  are 
supposed  to  be  u  the  angels  that  sinned  "  mentioned 
by  Peter  and  Jude.  For  this  Apostle  says  that 
"these  angels  are  reserved  in  everlasting  chains 
under  darkness  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day." 
,  the  common  notion,  as  an  interpretation  of 

*  Opp.  Col.,  1686,  t.  2,  Quest.  57,  p.  332. 


HARMONIZING   SCRIPTURE.  217 

this  passage,  is  directly  opposed  to  what  is  said  in 
the  Kevelation  xx.  2,  concerning  the  Devil  and 
Satan,  who  are  supposed  to  be  the  chief  of  these 
fallen  angels;  for  it  is  there  said  that  the  Devil  and 
Satan  should  be  only  first  bound  in  chains  a  thou- 
sand years  before  the  Last  Judgment,  after  which 
u  he  would  be  loosed  a  little  season."  And  again, 
if,  as  Jude  says,  the  angels  that  sinned  were  bound  in 
everlasting  chains,  how  could  the  Devil,  thus  bound, 
be  described  "as  going  about  like  a  roaring  lion, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour"?  (1  Pet.  v.  8.) 
Viewing  that  passage,  therefore,  according  to  the 
common  notion  called  orthodox,  it  makes  the  Scrip- 
tures contradictory.  But  viewing  it  according  to 
the  theology  of  the  New  Church,  supported  in  this 
instance  by  the  high  testimony  of  Augustin,  Chry- 
sostom,  and  others— authorities  which  no  Roman 
Catholic  and  but  few  Protestants  will  readily  gain- 
say—it introduces  harmony  into  Scripture  ;  and  the 
pious  mind,  when  thinking  on  these  important  re- 
alities, can  see  in  the  light  of -Truth  how  this  subject 
is  to  be  understood. 

A.  V. 
19 


LETTER  XYI. 
A  FEW  MORE  QUESTIONS  ANSWERED. 

: — I  perceive  from  your  last  paper  that 
your  correspondent  C.  D.  "  right  cordially 
thanks  me  "  for  my  replies  to  his  questions.* 
As  he  is  a  Christian  man,  I  am  bound  to  give  him 
credit  for  sincerity;  and  therefore  I  am  not  per- 
mitted, especially  on  a  subject  so  important,  to  sus- 
pect him  of  irony.  Indeed  we  have  but  little  intel- 
ligence in  spiritual  and  divine  things,  unless  we  can, 
in  some  degree  satisfactory,  answer  the  questions 
which  he  has  put.  I  am,  therefore,  happy  to  find 
that  he  is  satisfied  with  the  answers.  My  intelli- 
gent opponent,  however,  wishes  for  further  elucida- 
tion ;  and  he  consequently  puts  more  questions  which 
I  will  answer  as  briefly  as  possible. 

1.  My  opponent  says,  "As  the  human  form  is  the 
form  of  love  and  wisdom  in  a  man,  how  comes  it  to 
pass  that  Palmer  and  his  wretched  successors  in 
murder,  possessed  such  a  human  form  as  other 
men?  " 

"In  a  man"  means,  of  course,  in  a  good  man. 
Palmer  was  not  a  good  man ;  consequently  the  form 
of  love  and  wisdom  from  God,  or  of  charity  and 
faith,  which  is  essentially  the  same  thing,  could  not 
be  in  him.  Palmer,  it  is  true,  had  the  external  form 

*  See  Letter  XIII. 

218 


MATTER   AND  SPIRIT.  219 

of  a  man  ;  but  his  internal,  or  the  form  of  his  spirit, 
was  that  of  a  monster  corresponding  to  his  own  evil. 
For  the  mind  or  spirit  of  a  man,  being  a  spiritual 
substance,  assumes  a  form  according  to  its  quality ; 
if  regenerate  and  good,  the  form  is  perfectly  and 
beautifully  human ;  but  if  unregenerate  and  evil, 
the  form  of  the  spirit  is  monstrous  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  evil.  He  who  knows  u  what  is  in 
man  "  (John  ii.  25),  sees  this  internal  form,  and  pro- 
nounces accordingly.  The  external  form,  or  the 
material  body,  is  also  frequently  changed  by  the 
quality  of  the  in-dwelling  spirit ;  for  the  blood  of  a 
good  man,  as  Swedenborg  says,  is  in  itself  different 
from  the  blood  of  an  evil  man.  If  a  man  be  plunged 
in  sensualism,  or  addicted  to  drunkenness  or  bru- 
tality, does  not  his  external  in  most  cases  appear 
hideous  ?  But  the  material  body  of  a  man,  having 
its  own  animal  life,  independent,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  of  the  moral  qualities  of  his  spirit,  whether 
good  or  evil,  is  not  the  express  image  of  the  soul, 
as  the  spiritual  form  or  body  is ;  for  this  is  entirely 
dependent  on  the  governing  quality  of  the  soul,  and 
it  is  its  express  image  and  likeness.  The  Lord  who 
saw  the  interiors  of  men,  beheld  the  Pharisees,  how- 
soever holy  they  might  appear  in  externals  to  the 
multitude  around  them,  as  a  "generation  of  vipers,'7 
and  He  designated  them  accordingly. 

2.  "  What  is  the  essential  difference  between  mat- 
ter and  spirit  ?  " 

The  essential  difference  between  matter  and  spirit 
is  the  essential  difference  between  mind  and  body  ; 


220  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

for  mind  is  spirit,  and  body  is  matter.  As  my  op- 
ponent is  not  a  materialist,  he  cannot  deny  this. 
The  properties  of  a  spiritual  substance  as  distin- 
guished from  a  material  substance,  I  pointed  out  in 
-  a  former  letter  and  will  not  here  repeat  them. 

3.  "As  the  organized  form  of  a  man's  spirit  con- 
sists, like  the  body,  of  innumerable  parts  so  organ- 
ized and  arranged  as  to  constitute  a  harmonious  one, 
may  we  not  ascribe  the  property  of  divisibility  to 
man's  spirit  ?  " 

Divisibility  as  applied  to  matter  cannot  be  ascribed 
to  man's  spirit ;  but  in  the  sense  of  mental  analysis 
it  may  be  ascribed  to  the  spirit.  For  the  mental 
operation  called  analysis  corresponds  to  the  anatom- 
ical operation  called  dissection.  Thus  we  may  ana- 
lyze our  mental  faculties  and  distinguish  our  memory 
from  our  imagination,  our  reason  from  our  will,  etc. 
We  can  also  analyze  an  idea,  which  is  a  property  of 
spiritual  substance,  examine  what  it  contains,  and 
see  whether  it  be  true  or  false,  good  or  evil,  etc. 
We  can  also  resolve  an  intellectual  problem  into  its 
component  parts,  and  see  its  true  nature,  etc. 

4.  "As  the  goodness  which  comes  from  God  is  a 
substance,  may  I  ask  whether  it  be  a  hard  or  a  soft 
substance,  a  large  or  a  small  substance  ?  "  etc. 

Goodness  and  Truth  from  God,  as  being  his  essen- 
tial "Divine  Nature  "  (2  Peter  i.  4),  are  the  origin 
of  all  substances  and  forms  in  the  universe  of  being, 
whether  they  be  spiritual  or  natural.  We  cannot, 
as  shown  in  a  former  letter,  predicate  what  is  mate- 
rial of  this  "Divine  Nature  "  or  Substance,  except 


CORRESPONDENCES.  221 

by  way  of  correspondence  or  analogy,  as  is  the  case 
in  the  Scriptures.  We  read  of  the  great  goodness 
of  God,  but  we  do  not  mean  great  in  the  sense  of 
size  or  bulk,  which  can  be  measured  by  miles  or  fur- 
longs, or  weighed  by  pounds  or  tons.  We  designate 
the  goodness  of  our  fellow-men  by  expressions  taken 
from  natural  objects,  and  we  say  that  the  kindness 
or  goodness  of  a  friend  was  great,  profound,  intense, 
etc. ;  but  we  do  not  mean  that  these  expressions 
should  be  taken  in  their  material  or  physical  sense, 
which  can  be  measured,  weighed  or  sounded,  etc., 
but  by  an  instinctive  process  of  thought  we  instantly 
understand  them  in  another  sense  as  applicable  to  a 
spiritual  substance. 

Again,  when  we  predicate  softness,  gentleness,  sweet- 
ness, etc.,»of  a  person's  heart  and  disposition,  we  do 
not  employ  these  expressions,  although  taken  from 
material  things,  in  a  material  sense,  but  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  as  said  of  a  spiritual  substance,  which  is  the 
mind  or  spirit  of  which  these  dispositions  are  pred- 
icated. The  same  is  the  case  when  we  speak  of  a 
hard,  stiff,  refractory,  unyielding  heart  or  temper, 
etc. ;  we  do  not  use  these  terms  in  their  merely 
physical  sense,  but  in  a  spiritual  sense  adapted  to 
the  spirit. 

Permit  me  here  to  observe  that  the  entire  Word 
of  God  is  inspired  and  written  according  to  this  law 
of  correspondence  between  natural  things  and  spir- 
itual. For  Jesus  u  spake  nothing  without  a  parable," 
which  evidently  means  that  He  employed  natural 
things  to  express  spiritual  things  ;  and  when  we 
know  the  spiritual  meaning  involved  in  the  parable, 


222  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

or  in  the  natural  emblem,  we  know  the  true  meaning 
of  God's  Word,  and  not  before.  A  doctrine  that  is 
founded  upon  the  symbol,  and  not  upon  the  thing 
symbolized,  is  a  fallacious,  and  if  confirmed,  is  a 
false  doctrine.  All  false  doctrine,  such  as  transub- 
stantiation,  the  tri-personalism  of  the  Athanasian 
creed,  and  others  that  might  be  mentioned,  have 
originated  in  this  way. 

As  to  the  form  of  the  deceiver  and  liar,  to  whom 
my  opponent  alludes  in  this  question,  I  must  refer 
him  to  the  answer  to  the  first  question  above. 

5.  "  What  are  the  properties  of  what  is  good  and 
true?" 

The  properties  of  what  is  good  and  true  are  the 
properties  of  a  pure  spiritual  substance,  as. benevo- 
lence, holiness,  mercy,  justice,  etc.,  as  explained  in 
my  former  letter.  See  also  above,  the  answer  to 
question  4. 

6.  uAs  spiritual  substances  are  actuated  according 
to  the  nature  of  their  forms,  what  is  the  nature  of 
those  forms  ?  " 

The  nature  of  those  forms  is  either  good  or  evil ; 
if  they  receive  God's  life  or  in-flowing  spirit  which 
actuates  them,  without  perverting  it,  their  nature 
is  good  ;  but  if  they  pervert  it,  their  nature  is  evil. 
If  we  have  faith  in  the  Lord,  and  live  according  to 
his  commandments,  and  thus  love  Him  above  all 
things,  and  our  neighbor  as  ourselves,  the  forms  of 
our  spiritual  nature  or  organization  are  heavenly ; 
but  if  we  live  an  evil  life  of  unbelief  and  wickedness, 
the  forms  of  our  spiritual  organization  are  infernal. 


INFIDELS  AND   MATERIALISTS.  223 

7.  "As  it  is  a  great  fallacy  to  suppose  that  mercy, 
charity,  faith,  etc.,  are  the  properties  of  the  human 
body,  will  A.  V.  oblige  by  informing  us  who,  or  what 
curious  beings  indulge  in  so  fallacious  a  supposi- 
tion?" 

i 

The  "  curious  beings  "  who  indulge  in  such  a  sup- 
position are  all  kinds  of  materialists,  both  of  the 
German  and  French  schools,  and  also  the  socialists 
and  infidels  of  our  own  country.  All  who  deny  a 
spiritual  substance,  or  man's  spirit  consisting  of 
spiritual  substances,  and  the  properties  peculiar 
thereto  as  distinct  from  the  properties  of  matter, 
howsoever  they  may  profess  themselves  to  be  Chris- 
tians, are,  in  reality,  advocating  the  cause  of  the 
materialist  and  the  infidel.  The  theology  and  phil- 
osophy of  the  New  Jerusalem  is  the  only  system 
that  can  effectually  deliver  the  mind  from  material- 
ism and  all  kinds  of  infidelity. 

8.  "As  by  the  spiritual  body  is  meant  the  spiritual 
form  of  the  soul,  are  we  to  understand  that  body 
and  form  are  one  and  the  same  thing  V  " 

Body  and  form  are  the  same  thing,  or  as  shape  in 
relation  to  substance.  The  material  body  of  a  man 
is  his  form  by  which  he  is  known  in  the  world.  The 
spiritual  body  is  the  form  of  his  spirit,  by  which  after 
death  he  is  known  in  the  spiritual  world.  "There 
is,"  says  the  Apostle,  "a  natural  body  and  there  is 
a  spiritual  body."  The  Apostle  uses  the  expression 
u  there  is  "  in  the  present  tense,  showing  that  there 
is  now  a  spiritual  body,  which  is  clothed  in  the  world 
with  a  material  body.  This  spiritual  form  or  body, 
consisting  of  spiritual  substances,  must  not  be  con- 
ceived of  as  rarefied  matter,  but  as  a  substance  com- 


224  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

pletely  distinct  from  matter,  and  altogether  of 
another  kind,  and  subject  to  another  system  of  laws, 
which  are  not  material  but  spiritual.  Thus  the  spir- 
itual body  does  not  exist  in  continuity  or  continuous 
with  the  natural  body,  but  it  exists,  so  long  as  a  man 
lives  in  the  world,  in  contiguity  or  contiguous  with  the 
natural  body.  The  glove  on  the  hand  does  not  exist 
continuous  with  the  hand,  but  contiguous  to  it,  and 
thus  separable  from  it.  In  like  manner,  but  in  a 
way  infinitely  more  perfect,  the  natural  body  is  but 
the  covering  of  the  spirit,  which,  when  the  body 
dies,  is  in  its  own  form,  and  appears  in  its  own 
world. 

The  law  by  which  the  union  of  the  spirit  and  the 
body  is  preserved,  is  that  of  correspondence  and 
influx.  When  this  correspondence  is  broken  or  dis- 
solved, man  is  said  to  die,  and  the  natural  body,  like 
an  old  or  worn-out  glove,  falls  on  the  earth,  and  the 
living  form  within  still  lives,  but  in  a  world  above 
nature,  which  is  called  the  spiritual  or  eternal  world. 
My  intelligent  opponent  will,  now  that  he  has  looked 
favorably  upon  the  answers  to  his  previous  ques- 
tions, see  "that  the  spirits  of  just  men  in  heaven 
are  already  perfect  "  (teteleiomenon) ;  because  they 
are  in  their  spiritual  bodies,  and  consequently  have 
no  need  of  the  resurrection  of  clay  and  dust  at  the 
supposed  general  resurrection,  to  make  them  per- 
fect. 

With  a  due  appreciation  of  your  kindness  and 
liberality  in  allowing  us  to  present  to  your  readers 
this  brief  exposition  of  our  doctrines  and  sentiments, 
I  am,  dear  Mr.  Editor, 

Yours  right  truly,        A.  V. 


LETTER  XVII. 
CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

JIB : — It  has  been  demonstrated  that  the  pre- 
vailing theology  is  not  ^more  true  in  relation 
to  the  Word  of  God,  than  the  Ptolemaic  sys- 
tem of  astronomy  which  prevailed  up  to  the  time 
of  Copernicus,  Galileo  and  Newton,  was  true  in  re- 
lation to  the  heavens  which  it  pretended  to  explufh. 
That  system  was,  it  is  now  universally  admitted, 
founded  on  fallacies.  But  the  system  of  astronomy 
founded  on  genuine  scientific  truths  now  prevails, 
and  the  time  is  coming  when  the  true  theology,  ac- 
companied by  an  enlightened  mental  and  spiritual 
philosophy,  founded  not  on  appearances,  or,  what  is 
worse,  on  "  the  vain  traditions  of  men,"  but  on  gen- 
uine truths  drawn  purely  from  the  Word  of  God, 
will  also  prevail.  Men,  in  proportion  as  they  rise 
above  selfishness  and  worldliness,  are  sighing  and 
longing  for  a  new  development  of  truth  from  the 
Scriptures ;  and  their  sighing  hearts  will  meet  with 
satisfaction  in  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

My  last  opponent,  who  has  now  sought  refuge  in 
night,  has  not  presented  a  single  argument,  either 
from  Scripture  or  reason,  against  any  of  my  state- 
ments ;  but  he  has  sought  to  defend  the  citadel  of 
which  he  was  the  professed  champion,  by  irony  and 
abuse.  It  is  well  known  that  when  an  opponent  has 
recourse  to  such  weapons,  his  cause  is  hopeless.  In 
P  225 


226  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

answering  his  questions  on  subjects  so  solemn  and 
important,  I  was  bound  to  give  him  credit  as  a 
Christian  for  sincerity  and  candor.  He  no  doubt 
imagined  that  his  questions  could  not  be  answered ; 
but  he  knew  nothing  of  the  light  of  intelligence 
which  shines  in  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 
Questions  still  more  profound  than  he  can  put,  may 
be  satisfactorily  solved  in  the  light  of  the  New 
Church.  Even  his  friends  must  see  that  he  is  de-* 
feated.  Are  there  not  larger  heads  and  stronger 
hands  in  the  ranks  of  orthodoxy,  so  called,  to  whom 
the  tri-personal  doctrine  of  the  Athanasian  creed, 
and  the  theology  founded  thereon,  can  be  entrusted  ? 
If  not,  let  them  come  over  to  the  City  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  which  they  will  find  as  a  city  so  u  com- 
pact together"  from  beginning  to  end, — from  its 
foundation  upwards  to  its  turrets  and  pinnacles, — 
that  no  enemy  can  assail  it  with  any  prospect  of 
success. 

But  my  opponent,  before  he  finally  disappears, 
asks  one  more  question : — 

uCan  you  imagine,"  says  he,  ua  missionary  of 
these  views  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  standing  among 
a  crowd  of  subtle  Hindoos,  and  announcing,  as  the 
philosophy  of  Christianity,  that  man  has  two  bodies, 
the  visible  physical  one,  and  an  invisible  spiritual 
one ; — that  the  Great  Eternal  clothed  himself  in  this 
twofold  veil,  etc.  ?  for  the  mind  refuses  to  follow  out 
this  strain  of  absurdities  and  blasphemies." 

In  answer  to  this,  we  have  simply  to  quote  the 
declaration  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  whose  authority,  I 
am  sure,  my  opponent  himself  will  admit.  "  There 


ANOTHER    QUESTION  ANSWERED.         227 

is,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  a  natural  body,  and  there  is 
a  spiritual  body."  What  is  this  but  a  direct  answer, 
in  the  affirmative,  to  his  questions  in  respect  to  man  ? 
But  in  respect  to  the  Lord,  or  the  Great  Eternal, 
cannot  my  opponent  see  that  on  the  m6unt  of  Trans- 
figuration He  clothed  himself  in  his  twofold  veil? 
Does  not  the  Lord  here  present  himself  under  two 
bodily  aspects,  the  one  with  his  u  face  shining  as  the 
sun  "  and  the  other  in  his  ordinary  appearance,  quite 
distinct?  In  the  former  He  appeared  in  his  " Glo- 
rious Body,"  or  Divine  Humanity,  and  in  the  latter 
as  "a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief." 
In  the  former  He  was  the  "  Son  of  God,"  but  in  the 
latter  He  was  the  "  Son  of  Mary."  And  when  the 
"Son  of  Mary"  died,  the  uSon  of  God"  arose; 
that  is,  when  the  Lord  put  off,  by  the  death  on  the 
cross,  the  infirm  humanity  from  the  mother,  He  put 
on  in  its  place  and  in  its  stead  the  Divine  Humanity, 
or  "Glorious  Body"  from  the  Father  within  Him, 
in  which  He  now  is,  as  the  Apostle  Says,  u  God  over 
all,  blessed  forever  "  (Rom.  ix.  5),  the  only  true  Ob- 
ject of  worship  to  angels  and  men,  because  uin  Him 
dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily." 
(Gol.  ii.  9.) 

We  solemnly  ask,  Is  there  any  "  absurdity  or  blas- 
phemy" in  this  "twofold  veil,"  or  in  these  two 
bodily  aspects  ?  Yerily,  my  opponent  clearly  evinces 
that  he  requires  more  light  to  enable  him  to  under- 
stand the  Gospel,  and  to  see  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Je- 
sus ;  otherwise  he  would  not  pronounce  as  "absurd 
and  blasphemous,"  what  the  Lord  and  his  Apostle 
so  clearly  teach. 


228  THE  NEW-CHURCH  THEOLOGY. 

But  we  might,  in  truth,  ask  C.  D.,  What  do  subtle 
Hindoos  say  to  the  missionary  when  they  ask  him 
u  whether  the  woman  was  really  made  out  of  the 
rib  of  the  man  ? — whether  the  serpent  did  really 
speak  to  the  woman,  and  reason  with  her  ? — whether 
Balaam's  ass  did  really  expostulate  with  the  proph- 
et "  ?  When  they  again  ask  him,  u  How  can  three 
divine  persons,  each  by  himself  being  God  and  Lord, 
make  one  God,  or  how  could  Jehovah  who  is  infinite 
in  goodness  and  mercy,  reject  the  human  race  in 
anger,  and  could  only  be  appeased  and  atoned  by 
the  sufferings  and  blood  of  his  own  Son,  co-equal 
and  co-eternal  with  himself  ?  " — What  does  the  mis- 
sionary say  when  asked  by  the  subtle  Hindoos  to 
answer  these  questions  ?  Why,  it  is  on  record,  that 
the  missionary  cannot  answer  them  ;  and  the  Hin- 
doo consequently  remains  in  his  Pagan  darkness, 
and  clings  more  closely  than  ever  to  his  heathenism. 

Why  cannot  the  missionary  answer  these  ques- 
tions, together  with  many  others  which  might  be 
mentioned  ?  because  the  missionary,  trained  up  in 
a  false  theology  which  cannot  teach  him  the  true 
nature  of  God's  Word,  nor  the  principles  of  its  in- 
terpretation, is  not  able  to  answer  the  Hindoo.  But 
not  so  the  missionary  of  the  Church  of  the  New 
Jerusalem.  He,  knowing  the  nature  of  God's  Word 
and  the  principles  of  its  interpretation,  can  answer 
these  questions  ;  and  where  there  is  the  good  ground 
of  an  honest  heart,  he  can  convert  the  Hindoo  to 
Christianity — not  to  the  Christianity  of  a  false 
church,  but  to  the  Christianity  of  the  pure  Church 
of  Christ,  which  is  that  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  I 


A    CONVERTED   HINDOO.  229 

refer  you,  Sir,  to  the  "Intellectual  Repository,  or 
New  Jerusalem  Magazine,"  for  this  very  month 
(Sept.,  1856,  page  425),  where  you  will  find  a  letter 
from  a  Hindoo,  converted  to  the  New  Church,  en- 
treating us  to  send  missionaries  and  books  to  India, 
alleging  that  the  Hindoos  can  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures as  interpreted  by  the  doctrines  of  the  New 
Church,  but  that  they  cannot  understand  them  by 
means  of  the  theology  so  generally  taught  in  Europe. 
This  fact  speaks  volumes  in  behalf  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  ought 
seriously  to  affect  thinking  men,  and  lead  them  to 
inquire  into  the  claims  of  these  doctrines. 

And  now,  Sir,  permit  me  to  appeal  once  more  to 
your  numerous  and  intelligent  readers. 

The  subjects  discussed  in  these  letters  have  covered 
a  large  field  of  Christian  intelligence,  and  a  debt  of 
gratitude  which  will  not  be  forgotten,  is  due  to  you 
for  having  opened  your  pages  to  the  free  discussion 
of  so  many  subjects  of  Christian  theology.  Through- 
out the  controversy,  I  think  you  will  admit  that  I 
have  faithfully  observed  the  conditions  you  laid 
down  for  the  guidance  of  the  disputants,  and  that  I 
have  closely  adhered  to  the  postulates  upon  which 
the  discussion  should  be  conducted,  "that  every 
point  should  be  drawn  exclusively  from  the  "Word 
of  God,  and  confirmed  thereby."  This  was  agreed 
upon  by  my  first  opponent  C.  B.,  and  for  a  time  the 
discussion  went  on  in  a  way  in  which  two  Christian 
gentlemen  should  conduct  it.  But  when  irony, 
invective  and  empty  declamation  are  substituted, 
as  by  my  last  opponent,  for  sound  scriptural  and 
20 


230  THE  NEW-CHURCH   THEOLOGY. 

rational  argument,  it  is  time  that  he  should  decamp 
and  quit  the  arena.     He  has  done  so. 

I  am  now  in  your  hands  ;  and  if  permitted,  I  shall 
be  happy,  on  account  of  its  eminent  uses,  to  discuss 
any  other  subject  of  doctrine,  and  to  answer  any 
questions  pertaining  to  Christian  theology  and  phi- 
losophy, which  your  readers,  in  a  proper  spirit,  may 
think  proper  to  propose.  I  am  certain  that  from  a 
sense  of  justice  to  your  neighbor,  you  will  not  allow 
me  to  be  assailed  without  giving  me  an  opportunity 
to  reply.  Quoting  your  motto,  "  Now  abideth  faith, 
hope,*  charity,  these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these 
is  charity,"  permit  me  to  say  that  no  greater  act  of 
Christian  charity  can  be  performed  than  that  of 
making  known  to  others  the  Truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ; 
for  it  is  by  the  reception  and  love  of  this  Truth  that 
we  are  saved.  (2  Thess.  ii.  10.) 

By  your  liberality  as  a  Christian  editor  you  have 
set  an  example  to  the  Christian  community,  who,  if 
they  would  permit  themselves  to  examine  what 
others,  outside  of  the  narrow  limits  of  their  own 
Thirty-nine  Articles,  or  outside  of  their  own  de- 
nomination, have  to  say  in  respect  to  the  everlast- 
ing Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  would  not  debar  them- 
selves from  very  much  that  might  bless  them  with 
a  rich  measure  of  Christian  intelligence,  blessedness 
and  peace. 

Sincerely  thanking  you  for  your  kindness  and 
liberality, 

I  am,  yours  right  truly,  A.  Y. 

THE    END. 


"The  Swedenborg  Library." 

COMPLETE  in  12  volumes,  averaging  250  pages  each ;  consisting 
of  choice  selections  from  the  writings  of  Swedenborg  topically 
arranged,  with  a  full  Table  of  Contents.  The  great  Swede's  re- 
ligious arid  ethical  teachings  are  here  presented  in  a  condensed, 
intelligible,  neat,  and  extremely  cheap  form;  with  a  very  beauti- 
ful portrait  of  the  author  in  Vol.  XII.,  which  contains  320  pages. 
The  titles  of  the  several  volumes  are : 

1.  Death,  Resurrection  and  the  Judgment. 

2.  Heaven. 

3.  Freedom,  Rationality  and  Catholicity. 

4.  Divine  Providence  and  its  Laws. 

5.  Charity,  Faith  and  Works, 

6.  Free- Will,  Repentance,  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 

7.  Holy  Scripture  and  the  Key  to  its  Spiritual  Sense. 

8.  Creation,  Incarnation, Redemption,  and  the  Divine  Trinity. 

9.  Marriage  and  the  Sexes  in  both  Worlds. 

10.  The  Author's  Memorabilia, 

11.  The  Heavenly  Doctrine  of  the  Lord. 

12.  Swedenborg;  With  a  Compend  of  his  Teachings. 


SOME  OF  ITS  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1st.  It  gives  the  substance  of  Swedenborg's  teachings  in  a  com- 
pact form,  and  in  his  own  words  (translated),  with  references  to 
the  works  whence  the  extracts  are  taken. 

2d.  It  classifies  the  subjects  so  as  to  make  it  easy  for  the  reader 
to  nnd  whatever  spiritual  instruction  he  may  be  seeking". 

3d.  It  does  not  interfere  with  but  helps  all  other  enterprises 
which  aim  to  disseminate  the  highest  truths,  and  to  promote  the 
upbuilding  of  the  true  Church  on  earth. 

4th.  The  volumes  are  of  such  a  convenient  size,  that  one  of 
them  may  be  easily  curried  in  the  coat-pocket. 

5th.  Any  volume  of  the  series  makes  a  beautiful  gift-book  to 
a  friend,  or  to  any  seeker  after  the  highest  truths. 

6th.  Each  volume  being  complete  in  itself,  may  be  purchased 
separately  when  so  desired. 

7th.  The  work  is  gotten  up  in  a  very  tasteful  style,  and  the 
series  makes  a  beautiful  and  valuable  addition  to  any  library. 

8th.  Last,  but  not  least,  of  its  recommendations,  is  its  ctieap- 
ness,— being  about  half  the  usual  price  of  similar  works. 

Price  50  cents  a  volume  (extra  cloth) ;  and  $8.00  the  set, 
elegantly  bound  in  6  volumes  (2  vols.  in  one),  in  half  Turkey  mo- 
rocco—titles on  the  backs  in  gilt  letters. 

A  liberal  discount  to  ministers  and  theological  students. 

Address     Swedenborg  Publishing  Association, 

93O  Market  St.,  Philadelphia, 

Or,  B.  F.  BARRETT,  GERMANTOWN,  PA. 
1 


WHAT  GOOD  JUDGES  THINK  OF  IT. 

THE  following  extracts  are  from  letters  received 
by  the  Editor  from  seventeen  intelligent  New  Church 
ministers  : 

"The  SWEDENBORG  LIBRARY  plan  excites  the  universal  ad- 
miration of  those  whose  attention  I  have  called  to  it." 

"  Exactly  what  it  ought  to  be,  beautiful,  attractive,  and  not 
too  large.  Such  books  are  read.  I  regard  this  enterprise  as  the 
best  yet  started  to  promulgate  the  heavenly  doctrines." 

u  This  seems  to  me  just  what  we  need ;  I  am  delighted  with  it." 

"  I  think  the  idea  is  a  very  happy  one :  I  have  shown  the  book 
to  several  of  our  people,  and  all  give  it  i 


"  I  like  the  project  very  much.  .  .  .  Sure  you  will  be  gratified 
with  the  reception  which  the  SWEDENBORG  LIBRARY  will  meet." 


give  it  unqualified  praise." 
.  .  .  Sure  you  will  be  gratil 

EDENBORG  LIBRARY  will  me( 

"  Splendid !  Just  the  thing  that  is  needed  by  a  large  class  of 
readers  even  in  our  so-called  New  Church  Societies." 

u  You  are  doing  just  now,  in  my  estimation,  the  greatest  work 
of  your  life ;  and  my  heart's  wish  is  that  every  member  of  the 
Church  may  encourage  you  in  it." 

"I  have  received  and  read  several  volumes  of  the  SWEDEN- 
BORG LIBRARY  with  great  interest,  because  I  found  in  them 
the  best  missionary  books  that  I  have  ever  read." 

"Just  the  thing  for  our  [missionary]  work.  .  .  I  like  it  very 
much,  and  believe  you  are  doing  a  good  service." 

"The  SWEDENBORG  LIBRARY  supplies  the  want  I  have  felt 
for  some  time,  and  proves  very  acceptable  and  convincing  read- 
ing to  beginners." 

"The  volumes  are  convenient  for  family  and  social  reading, 
and  form  admirable  text-books  for  adult  classes,  and  elder 
classes  in  Sabbath-schools." 

"  I  think  you  are  engaged  in  a  noble  work  in  bringing  out  the 
substance  of  Swedenborg's  teachings  in  such  an  attractive  and 
inexpensive  form  as  the  SWEDENBORG  LIBRARY." 

"The  publication  of  the  SWEDENBORG  LIBRARY  meets  my 
heartiest  approval.  It  was  a  well-conceived  idea,  and  has  been 
carried  out  in  great  good  taste." 

"This  series  of  New  Church  works  has,  in  my  judgment,  no 
equal  for  giving  to  the  masses  the  grand  truths  of  the  New 
Age." 

**  The  little  books  are  delightful.  Volume  12  is  a  perfect  treas- 
ure, and  must  meet  a  very  general  want." 

"  I  find  the  SWEDENDORG  LIBRARY  every  way  satisfactory.  I 
deem  it  among  the  very  best  works'  of  the  Church." 

"1  am  more  and  more  delighted  with  what  I  see  of  the 
SWEDENBORG  LIBRARY.  Volume  12  seems  to  me  one  of  the 
very  best  things  we  have  in  the  literature  of  the  Church." 

2 


OPINIONS   OF  THE   PRESS. 


"The  SWEDENBORG  LIBRARY  is  the  best  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  Swedenborg's  voluminous  system  within  the 
scope  of  popular  comprehension,  of  any  work  that  has  come  to 
our  notice." — Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

"It  is  one  of  the  most  useful  works  which  has  lately  shown 
itself  in  the  Church.  For  this  reason  we  recommend  it  with  our 
whole  heart.  .  .  .  The  choice  of  extracts  is  exquisite,  admirable, 
and  of  the  greatest  importance  and  use  even  to  well-instructed 
members  of  the  New  Church."— Botc  der  Neuen  Kirche  (Rev.  O. 
A.  Brickman,  Editor). 

"  The  work  is  interesting  to  churchmen,  and  all  who  desire  to  be 
well  informed  on  the  religions  of  the  day."— Kohomo  Dispatch. 

"Managers  of  New-Church  libraries  will  find  the  volumes  of 
this  series  especially  useful  to  persons  just  becoming  interested." 

—New  Jerusalem  Magazine. 

"We  can  heartily  commend  this  little  book  to  any  who  may 
desire  a  general  notion  of  the  theological  views  of  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  men  that  ever  lived."— Cincinnati  Times. 

"  Swedenborg,  when  studied  for  the  sake  of  his  spirit  only, 
must  improve  in  the  esteem  of  all  good  men.  The  abridged 
edition  of  his  works  is  very  attractive  in  form,  and  is  full  enough 
to  convey  the  author's  meaning."— The  Christ  inn  L'ninn. 

"Mr.  Barrett  is  excellently  well  qualified  for  this  labor.  .  .  The 
New. Church  is  growing;  and  this  popularization  of  its  creed  will 
be  of  value  to  some  and  interest  to  all."— I'ltiln.  North  American. 

"If  one  desires  a  succinct,  clear,  and  adequate  idea  of  the 
teachings  of  the  New  Church,  here  in  these  handsome  and  port- 
able volumes,  in  a  cheap  form,  he  can  obtain  it."— Zion's  Herald. 

"The  editor  has  done  a  real  service,  not  only  to  those  of  his 
own  special  faith,  but  for  thoughtful  Christ  inns  In  all  denomina- 
tions. .  .  Such  selections  as  are  contained  in  this  neat  little  vol- 
ume, are  spiritually  edifying  and  abundantly  suggestive." 

—Chicago  Advance. 

"Life  is  too  short  for  us  to  read  Swedenborg  in  extenso ;  .  .  . 
But  gleaned  from  the  wide  expanse  of  the  Swedenborg  litera- 
ture by  a  man  of  rare  talent  for  his  work,  the  teachings  of  this 
author  appear  to  their  best  advantage  in  this  edition." 

—Minneapolis  Tribune. 

"We  think  this  [Vol.  VI.]  an  excellent  continuation  of  an  ex- 
cellent series  of  New  Church  publications." 

— New  Jerusalem  Messenger. 

"An  excellent  condensation  of  the  pith  and  substance  of  Swe- 
denborg's teachings  and  revelations.  Whoever  desires  to  know 
the  fundamental  views  of  his  church,  will  find  them  here." 

—Zion's  Herald. 

"The  series  is  every  way  admirable,  and  cannot  fail  to  be 
welcomed  by  the  religiously  inclined  of  other  denominations, 
as  well  as  by  the  immediate  followers  of  the  doctrines  taught  by 
the  Swedish  philosopher."— Chicago  Jownal. 

3 


UTHE   SWEDENBORG    LIBRARY." 


OPINION  OF  THE  NEW-CHURCH  REVIEW. 

The  following  is  copied  from  the  July  (1882)  number 
of  the  New -Church  Review,  and  is  from  the  pen  of  a 
competent  critic,  and  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
scholarly  ministers  in  the  New  Church. 

"Of  the  'Swedenborg  Library,'  as  edited  by  Mr. 
Barrett,  and  published  in  the  neat,  elegant  and  at- 
tractive little  quartos,  we  may  justly  say  that  it  will 
be  hard  to  find  any  other  printed  matter  in  the  world, 
which  will  so  worthily  occupy  an  equal  twelve  inches 
of  shelf-room.  This  little  Library  is  a  specialty,  in- 
deed. It  is  devoted  to  one  and  only  one  theological 
system,  but  that  a  very  catholic  and  comprehensive 
one ;  so  that  there  is  hardly  a  principle  in  science  or 
philosophy,  a  question  of  morals,  or  of  life,  or  of  death, 
or  of  the  here,  or  of  the  hereafter,  that  is  not  eluci- 
dated in  it.  But  it  is  analytic  also,  and  so  thoroughly 
and  admirably  so,  that  we  find  here  its  peculiar  value, 
not  only  to  the  world  at  large  but  to  the  New  Church- 
man himself,  to  whom  the  theology  here  presented  is 
already  tolerably  familiar. 

"  In  calling  attention  to  the  SWEDENBORO  LIBRARY 
in  these  pages,  we  have  not  in  view  so  much  to  adver- 
tise the  work,  already  far  more  widely  known  than  is 
the  REVIEW,  as  to  dwell  upon  certain  features  which 
commend  the  books,  especially  to  the  familiar  and  con- 
stant use  of  the  New  Church,  especially  in  the  family 
and  in  the  instruction  of  youth. 

"We  need  say  but  little  about  the  advantages  the 
Library  offers  to  the  world  at  large.  The  handy  and 
inexpensive,  yet  thoroughly  tasteful  little  volumes, 
speak  for  themselves,  and  are  sure  to  find  a  welcome 
entry  into  thousands  of  homes  and  libraries  where  the 
more  sombre  and  stately  volumes  of  the  complete 
4 


14  THE   SWEDENBORG    LIBRARY." 


editions  of  the  author,  or  the  more  elaborate  and  pon- 
derous single  treatises,  would  be  politely  declined  ad- 
mission. The  advertising  circular  calls  attention  to 
some  of  the  'distinguishing  merits  and  obvious  advan- 
tages of  this  series,'  enumerating  among  these  its 
cheapness,  its  convenient  size,  its  attractiveness,  its 
compactness  and  brevity  of  statement,  and  the  aid  it 
affords  to  the  reader  in  its  classification  of  subjects.  It 
is  especially  the  last-named  feature  which  commends 
the  work,  in  our  judgment,  and  which  puts  the  New 
Church,  as  well  as  the  general  reading  public,  under 
special  obligation  to  the  painstaking  editor  of  this 
series. 

11  The  diffuseness  of  Swedenborg's  style  has  been 
the  general  complaint  urged  by  most  novitiate  readers, 
and  the  very  vastness  of  the  field  his  writings  cover, 
makes  the  investigation  of  them  seem  at  first  an  almost 
hopeless  task.  Just  where  to  turn  for  enlightenment 
on  this  or  that  special  topic,  has  not  been  always  at 
the  command  of  well-read  New  Churchmen,  without 
the  aid  of  the  somewhat  rare  indexes ;  and  then  no 
little  time  is  consumed  in  searching  for  passages,  in 
half  a  dozen  volumes  it  may  be. 

uNow  we  would  not  think  for  a  moment  of  recom- 
mending this  analysis  of  the  writings  by  Mr.  Barrett 
as  a  substitute  for  any  student  to  adopt  in  any  thor- 
ough or  fundamental  investigation  of  any  topic.  The 
editor  never  intended  them  for  this  use.  He  refers 
his  readers  to  the  complete  works  of  Swedenborg  for 
the  thorough  and  final  study  of  any  of  these  subjects. 
But  we  are  free  to  say  that  for  a  ready  reference  and 
a  convenient  summary  of  what  Swedenborg  has  said 
on  any  of  the  themes  here  mentioned,  we  do  not  know 
where  to  look  for  a  more  valuable  work  than  this. 
Moreover,  it  is  of  the  first  importance  that  in  the 
study  of  any  subject  there  should  be  an  order  and 
5 


"THE    SWEDENBORG    LIBRARY." 


a  progressive  classification  of  truths,  as  well  as  an 
analysis.  And  here  is  where  we  have  found  much 
to  admire  in  these  little  books. 

"With  the  helpfulness  of  this  orderly  arrangement 
of  the  contents,  we  have  been  especially  impressed 
in  Vol.  L,  on  'Death,  Resurrection  and  the  Judg- 
ment,' and  in  Vol.  VIII.,  on  'Creation,  Incarnation, 
Redemption  and  the  Trinity.5  Any  one  can  see  at  a 
glance  that  this  is  the  natural  order  of  these  topics 
when  considered  together,  and  the  plan  of  the  respec- 
tive volumes  is  arranged  accordingly.  But  few  have 
thought,  perhaps,  what  a  complete  whole  each  of  these 
groups  makes  when  thus  considered  together,  and 
what  a  clearly  defined  and  lasting  impress  a  careful 
study  of  such  a  treatise  must  leave  in  any  thinking 
mind.  .  .  . 

"Take  this  little  book  on  Death,  etc.,  Vol.  I.  Here 
a  man  is  literally  introduced  into  the  spiritual  world 
at  the  threshold.  He  is  led  upward  through  the  proc- 
ess of  physical  dying,  having  first  been  described  in 
his  real  being,  that  is,  as  consisting  of  a  spiritual  and 
immortal  body,  clothed  on  earth  with  a  temporary 
material  one.  Arriving  in  the  spiritual  world  he  is 
shown  what  manner  of  life  the  spiritual  body  leads  ; 
then  he  is  led  through  the  several  stages  of  the  resur- 
rection, or  the  development  of  the  real  man, out  of 
all  the  outside  concealments  which  in  some  measure 
attend  him  even  into  the  world  of  spirits,  until  at 
length  he  is  brought  to  that  knowledge  of  his  real, 
abiding,  unchangeable  character  or  fitness  for  heaven 
or  hell,  which  constitutes  the  judgment.  Then  is 
briefly  described  the  quality  of  the  life  in  heaven  and 
in  hell,  and  some  practical  guides  for  us  all  as  to  c  the 
way  that  leads  to  heaven,'  while  we  are  still  under- 
going the  discipline  of  earth.  The  little  book  is  a 
wonderful  mariner's  chart  for  a  world  that  reaches 
6 


1THE    SWEDENBORG    LIBRARY." 


out  into  eternity.  It  will  suffice  for  all  the  funeral  dis- 
courses that  ever  need  be  uttered,  so  far  as  instruc- 
tion goes ;  and  it  tells  a  man  more  of  what  he  is  made 
of,  than  all  the  volumes  of  ancient  or  modern  philos- 
ophy put  together.  And  yet  this  is  but  one  of  these 
little  treatises. 

"  In  Vol.  VIII.  the  arrangement  is  indeed  drawn 
from  the  author's  True  Christian  Religion;  but  the 
subject  of  creation  is  wonderfully  elucidated  by  the 
citations  from  the  Divine  Love  and  Wisdom.  No  sys- 
tem of  pure  philosophy  could  present  a  more  orderly 
or  logical  sequence  than  is  here  observed,  in  starting 
out  first  with  God  as  the  sole  Creative  Substance,  then 
discussing  the  materials,  the  form  and  process  of  en  ;i- 
tion  by  the  method  of  discrete  degrees,  then  the  ends 
or  uses  of  creation,  then  the  completed  creation  or 
universe,  as  an  image  of  the  infinite  ;  then  the  influx 
of  spirit  into  nature,  or  the  ivlation  of  matter  to  life 
and  of  the  natural  to  the  spiritual  world.  From  this 
primary  discussion  the  book  proceeds  to  the  descent 
of  Jehovah  God  into  the  created  world  or  into  nature 
as  man,  for  the  purpose  of  the  redemption  and  salva- 
tion of  the  human  race.  This  embraces  the  discussion 
of  the  Incarnation,  of  the  union  of  Humanity  with 
Divinity  in  the  Lord  ;  also  the  wars  with  the  power 
of  evil,  or  the  'conflict  with  the  hells,'  by  which  the 
Lord  succored  mankind  and  restored  the  race  to  spir- 
itual liberty  and  to  the  light  of  divine  truth  ;  and 
finally,  the  Holy  Spirit  and  its  operation,  and  the 
divine  Trinity,  what  it  is  and  what  it  is  not ;  and  the 
Divine  Providence  as  directing  the  formulating  of  the 
Christian  creeds,  teaching  a  trinity  of  persons  with  a 
view  to  protecting  the  Christian  church  from  Arian- 
ism,  or  the  utter  rejection  of  the  Lord's  Divinity  until 
the  time  of  his  second  coming,  to  show  us  in  Himself, 
4  plainly  of  the  Father  ; ' —  this  sublime  progress  of 
7 


'THE   SWEDENBORG   LIBRARY." 


truths  is  here  unfolded  to  the  reader  with  an  admi- 
rable order,  conciseness  and  simplicity  of  arrangement, 
which  makes  the  study  of  the  subject  an  attractive 
one,  and  leaves  a  most  satisfying  impression,  because 
clear  and  well  denned. 

u  We  might  instance  the  features  of  others  of  these 
volumes  which  have  especially  delighted  us ;  but  the 
chief  merit  in  all,  is  this  excellent  arrangement  by 
which  the  reader  finds  so  conveniently  at  hand  a  brief 
survey  of  the  most  interesting  truths  on  the  subject 
before  him.  For  purposes  of  religious  culture,  or  for 
devotional  reading  as  a  spiritual  exercise  most  health- 
ful for  every  Christian,  we  cannot  too  highly  commend 
the  volume  on  Free  Will,  Repentance,  Reformation  and 
Regeneration,  as  a  most  practical  and  genuinely  useful 
guide  to  a  man's  everyday  thoughts  and  character. 

u  The  volume  on  Heaven,  far  from  being  a  mere  repe- 
tition of  Yol.  I. ,  is  a  survey  of  the  regenerated  human 
life,  and  a  picture  of  a  perfect  society  with  its  uses  and 
its  delights  as  exhibited  in  the  actual  life  of  angels. 
It  is  as  beautiful  and  wonderful  as  any  Utopia  with 
the  advantage  of  being  very  real,  and  attainable  to 
all  who  will  accept  the  simple  rules  of  citizenship 
here  laid  down. 

"The  volume  on  'Holy  Scripture  and  the  Key  to 
its  spiritual  sense,'  contains  not  only  the  general  doc- 
trine of  the  internal  sense,  but  is  full  of  practical  and 
pointed  illustrations  of  the  doctrine  of  correspond- 
ences ;  concluding  with  some  ;  trials  of  the  key,'  and 
an  example  of  c  its  power  to  unlock  Kev.  xxi. '  This 
very  plain  presentation  of  the  subject  cannot  but  im- 
press favorably  the  minds  of  the  young ;  and  we  do 
not  see  why  the  study  of  the  Word  by  this  means 
should  not  become  a  fascinating  as  well  as  edifying 
employment  for  youthful  minds,  provided  it  be  done 
reverently  and  in  a  religious  spirit." 
8 


MR.  BARRETT'S    WORKS. 

Lectures  on  the  New  Dispensation.  Extra  cloth,  pp.  328, 
12 mo.  Price  60  cents. 

"An  admirable  work  for  making  one  acquainted  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  New  Church."— Intellectual  Repository. 

The  New  Tiew  of  Hell.  Extra  cloth,  pp.  215,  12mo.  50 
cents. 

"  Contains  much  that  is  profoundly  true,  and  much  that  is 
exceedingly  suggestive."— New  York  Independent. 

The  Golden  City.  Extra  cloth,  pp.  253,  12mo.  Price  60 
cents. 

"The  most  important  book  concerning  the  New  Church 
which  has  been  written  for  years." 

—Boston  New  Church  Magazine. 

Letters  to  Beecher  on  the  Future  Life.  Extra  cloth, 
pp.  191,  12mo.  Price  50  cents. 

"A  grand  and  impressive  statement  of  the  New  Church 
doctrine  of  the  Future  Life."— New  Church  Independent. 

Swedenborg  and  Clianning.     Pp.  288,  12mo.    60  cents. 
"A  very  interesting  work."— -Pittalmrfjh  Commercial  Gazette. 
"The  spiritof  the  work  is  excellent."— TheConywiHttionaltet. 

Letters  to  Beecher  on  the  Divine  Trinity.  Extra  cloth, 
pp.  160,  12mo.  Price  50  cents. 

Presenting  with  great  clearness  and  force  the  doctrine  of 
the  Divine  Trinity  as  taught  by  Emanuel  Swedenborg. 

The  New  Church;  Its  Nature  and  Whereabout.    Pp. 

213,  12mo.     Price  50  cents. 

Showing  that  this  Church  is  not  a  sect,  but  much  wider  and 
more  comprehensive  than  any  existing  religious  organization. 

A  Bishop's  Gun  Reversed.  Being  an  Attack  on  the  New 
Church  by  Bishop  Burgess,  and  the  Reply  thereto  by  B. 
F.  Barrett.  Pp.  220,  18mo.  Price  25  cents. 

"Your  reply  to  Bishop  Burgess  is  doing  good  here.  . .  When 
read  along  with  the  Bishop's  attack  the  effect  produced  is  ex- 
cellent. By  all  means  have  the  attack  added."  (It  is  added.) 

Memorial  to  the  General  Convention;  and  full  Text  of 
passages  in  Swedenborg  referred  to,  revealing  the  gran<f 
catholicity  of  his  teachings.  Pp.  95.  Price  6  cents ;  five 
copies  for  25  cents. 

The  Man  and  His  Mission.  In  two  Parts.  Pp.  60, 12mo. 
Price  5  cents ;  six  copies  for  25  cents,  and  28  for  $1. 

Sent  (post-paid)  to  any  address  on  receipt  of  prices  here  named. 

Address     gwedenborg  Publishing  Association, 

G3O  Market  St.,  Philadelphia. 
9 


SWEDENBORG'S  THEOLOGICAL  WORKS 

At  Greatly  Reduced  Prices. 

The  American  Swedenborg  Printing  and  Publishing  So- 
ciety, desirous  of  securing  a  wider  circulation  for  Sweden- 
bor^-'s  writings,  offers  its  large,  uniform,  octavo  edition  of 
his  Theological  Works,  on  good  paper  and  well  bound  in 
cloth,  at  the  following  greatly  reduced  prices : 

Per  Vol.  Formerly. 

True  Christian  Religion.    982  pp $l.oo  $2.50 

Arcana  Coelestia.    1.0  vols.,  5792  pp GO  1.50 

Apocalypse  Revealed.    2  vols.,  1100  pp 6O  1.50 

Miscellaneous  Theological  Works.    526  pp..        GO  1.50 

Conjugial  Love.    472  pp 6O  1.25 

Heaven  and  Hell.    375  pp SO  1.25 

Divine  Providence.    308  pp :. 5O  1.25 

Divine  Love  and  Wisdom.    199  pp 5O  1.00 

Four  Leading  Doctrines.    247  pp 5O  1.00 

When  sent  by  mail,  the  following-  sums  must  be  added  for 
postage :  T.  C.  R.,  24  cents ;  A.  C.,  18  cents  each  vol. ;  A.  R.,  15 
cents  each  vol.;  M.  T.  W.,  16  cents;  C.  L.,  15  cents;  H.  H.,  15 
cents;  D.  P.,  11  cents;  D.  L.  W.,  8  cents;  F.  L.  D.,  10  cents. 

SPECIAL   OFFER   TO   CLERG-YMEN. 

This  Society  offers  to  clergymen  of  all  denominations  its  full 
set  of  Swedenborg's  Theological  Works  (19  volumes,  8vo),  con- 
taining 9,434  pages,  on  good  paper,  well  bound  in  cloth,  boxed 
ready  for  shipment  from  New  York,  for 

$7.5O. 

To  those  who  have  already  received  "  Heaven  and  Hell,"  "  True 
Cljristian  Religion,"  and  ''Apocalypse  Revealed,"  the  set,  exclu- 
sive of  these,  will  be  sent  for 

$6.OO. 

THE  FOUR  DOCTRINES,  32mo,  372  pages,  flexible  cloth.  Single 
copy,  20  cents ;  seven  copies  for  $1.00,  postage  included ;  fifty 
copies  for  $5.00,  postage  not  included.  Same  on  fine  paper,  vel- 
lum cloth,  gilt  edges,  30  cents ;  four  copies  for  $1.00,  postage  in- 
cluded. 

Address  E     H     SWINNEY, 

20  Cooper  Union,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

10 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


